


Fade to black

by Lonewolf94



Category: Bleach
Genre: F/M, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:40:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 30,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26663074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lonewolf94/pseuds/Lonewolf94
Summary: Have you ever noticed that when someone returns from the brink of death, they don't return as the same person, there will be drastic changes in them? Changes that either completely destroy them or builds them from the scratch. But one thing is for sure nothing will remain the same for them, those are the ones touched by death herself. What happens when a boy with a hidden past unknown to himself who has suffered throughout his life and has been a failure in everything he has ever done because of the consequences of certain events related directly to his past and branded as a loser for his not so comic acts by his peers, who has hidden his real self behind that facade in front of everyone except his family and close friends finds himself in the presence of death due to a disastrous accident gains an ability which was sought by many beings throughout the history for centuries in addition to his latent abilities being awoken because of the said spirits trying to possess him. How will this change him and what role will he play in the supernatural events happening in his town. Will he help certain someone from his past in achieving their goal or will he stop him along with others or will he follow his own path to glory
Relationships: Asano Keigo/Honsho Chizuru/multi, Inoue Orihime/Kurosaki Ichigo, More pairing to be added - Relationship, OC/OC





	1. The beginning

**Author's Note:**

> My first attempt in writing a bleach fanfic. Constructive criticisms are welcome. The actual story starts the day before Ichigo goes to soul society, will diverge and intermingle with original story line. Trying to make the characters not to be too ooc. And the main character in this story is someone who is usually a side character mostly known for his comedic purpose. Certain characters will be tweaked for the sake of the story.

14 years ago, August 11th 11:50 pm

A bespectacled brown-haired man with a black robe covered by white coat was walking in one of the streets of Karakura town with a small bundle in his hands, one can find a katana like sword hanging from his hips. One look at him people might assume that either he is a person suffering from sixth grader syndrome or a weirdo roaming the streets trying to look cool, if the people are capable of seeing him that is ,because the man is a Shinigami captain only people with high spiritual power can see him and he has concealed his presence from prying eyes of the other supernatural entities Shinigami and hollows alike using the Reiatsu Concealing Cloak since he was on one of his most important personal missions of his life. He glanced at the small bundle in his arm ,the cold calculating look in his eyes was replaced with kindness and affection, his face had a genuine smile not the fake ones he had been giving his subordinates .The bundle in his arm apparently turned out to be a small male baby who opened his dark brown eyes which are similar to that of the man holding him. Recognizing the man immediately the boy started cooing giving him a toothy smile. The baby tried to move his hands to touch the face of the man carrying him, after few failed attempts the boy finally patted the man on his chest and uttered his first word

"Papa"

A normal person wouldn't heard it as it was barely audible and the thunderstorm. But the man was a Shinigami with all his senses enhanced so it would be impossible for him to miss the child's first word. He was stunned for a moment not knowing what to do since he had never been in this position before, he regained his composure quickly his eyes brimming with tears. Though he had a proud affectionate smile on his face. Wiping his eyes, he kissed the child's forehead and held even more closer to him. He started walking at a rapid pace determined to reach his destination quickly. the longer he spends time with his son the harder it will be to part himself from him .The Shinigami captain rarely got himself emotionally attached to other unless it involves him gaining power or when he was emotionally manipulating others by faking it ,but the attachment he was feeling towards the little drooling human in his arm was far more than anything he had ever felt throughout his entire life not even when he had been promoted to the position of the captain or when he had successfully framed his fellow Shinigami members for being abominations which was a result of his own actions or when he had betrayed his former captain and his pesky friends or when he had gotten away without getting caught for his crimes by framing Urahara for helping the hollowfied Shinigami . No, the satisfaction and elation he felt when he was holding the boy in his arm or when the boy addressed him as his papa when he uttered his first words was far greater than any of things he had achieved in his life.

Sozuke Aizen lived for power, has killed for power, caused chaos for the sake of getting power and will die for power. Power had always been a driving force for him and his life time goal is to become the most powerful being ever existed and he valued people based on their power. Ironically his son though was powerless no matter what he tried or tests he had conducted; he couldn't find the exact reason for his lack of power. He wondered if this was nature's way of saying fuck you for meddling with things, he shouldn't like creating a life? He had expected himself to hate the boy for being powerless but no when the child opened his eyes for the first time which was the same color as his, he was mesmerized and when he held the child in his arm for the first time all his doubts were gone in a blink. He would make an exception for the child and he will become powerful for him too, so that he can live peacefully and comfortably like a prince. A kingdom where he is the king and the child in his arm will be the prince, then the king after him, a kingdom so powerful filled with warriors and creations either made by him through experiments or through manipulating people. But in order to achieve that goal he had to separate himself from the child, his first sentient creation not corrupted by the worlds or universes impurities, life at its purest form.

In order to gain something, you have to lose something that's the general law of nature, Aizen understood it perfectly well after all he sacrificed a lot of things in his life to be in the position where he is right now .To achieve his goal he had to separate himself from little human for exactly 14 years in order for his plans come to fruition .He had already the obstacles in his path and had placed the necessary chips in the place where he needed them to be. So now he has to do is wait patiently for things to fit in his plan .He can't risk the child from being exposed to the soul society ,if they find out about his existence he will suffer a fate worse than death and as for him he would executed on the spot .He didn't want either one of those scenarios to happen in reality besides he knew that not all of his allies are really his allies who would use the child against him and no matter how much he tried to deny it ,it's a well known fact that the the boy was his one and only weakness ,having him with him will also create doubts and unwanted questions in the minds of the people in the soul society so that's why after carefully thinking and planning he had selected this back water town where nothing happens a lot and no harmful supernatural entities roaming around unlike other towns which were infested with hollows .The town is also a home to few quincies, who were supposedly extinct according to the stealth squad and the spies of the soul society ,he shook his head in disgust how low the mighty squad has fallen and even though he played a major role in it by framing Urahara and made sure that the morons in the central 46 to trust the story he had carefully created ,that Urahara was helping the hollofied Shinigami members like his former captain shinji and his friends resulting in all of them getting arrested and when they were about face execution for their supposed crimes, their friend former stealth squad captain Yoruichi aided them in their escape and fleeing the soul society along with the prisoners to the mortal world to this town hundred years ago . The bureaucrats in the section 46 had bought the story he had created well, without thinking since all the clues were in such a way that those who were a threat to him and whom he considered as an obstacle in his path took the blame without him involving directly.

Ironically his son is going to grow up in the same town but none of them will be able to tell that boy is his son, after all no one had ever tried or succeeded in what he had done and only his faithful pawns knew about the existence of the boy in the first place. Not even Urahara would be able predict this. So, the risk of his son getting harmed here is zero to null. Even if they somehow managed to find out about his existence they are too honourable to go after a powerless innocent supposedly human kid and there is no way they will be able to inform the soul society about his son after all they are still fugitives wanted for treason and illegal experimentation.

The family he had planned to leave the child with is one of the richest family in the town consisting of only three members .The head of the family is a man named Kenshi who is currently in his mid-thirties a kind hearted wealthy business man ,his wife Kasumi a former model turned social worker and their only child daughter who is four years old .The husband and wife wanted to have another child but they couldn't achieve it due to some complications in the wife's reproductive system ,fortunately for him he was able to find this out when he had thoroughly checked their background so manipulating them into accepting the child into their house hold was not a big deal for him after all they still ached to have a child but are still bit hesitant to adopt one.

He stalked their day to day activities for a month by using his hollows .So he knew at this moment the family is returning from their visit to a resort where they had celebrated their daughter's birthday and will be reaching their house in this route .He had commanded his hollows to kill some random couple from some other place and placed their disfigured corpses in the wreckage making it look like an automobile accident with the supposed son of the couple being the sole survivor. Everything's done he just have to place the child in the wreckage and wait for them to arrive .Once they are in position he will simply use his hypnotic ability and implant a simple suggestion in the minds of the family into taking his son aka adopting him into their house hold .Knowing the kind nature of the couple plus their need to have another child they might even take him in without any hypnotism . He placed the child in the wreckage making sure that nothing harms him, before leaving he had some parting words for his son

"You might think that I am abandoning you little guy but the truth is I am not. You being with me is danger to both of our lives. You are a welcome distraction in my life, you have made me understand what it feels like to be loved unconditionally without expecting anything in return and you have taught what it means to love someone. The emotions which I am feeling right now, it jeopardizes the plans I have made for years. If one of these plans fail a fate worse than death waits for us. I don't mind suffering that fate but I wouldn't want you to suffer it ,so I would rather separate myself from you if I it saves you from that .The time I spent with you is the most cherished memory for me right from the moment you were born till now .I will return to take you back with me once my plans have succeeded. I'm not sure how long it will take but I swear ill be back for you"

Aizen ran his hand through his son's hair

"Good bye for now my dear son, your new family is filled with really kind people and they will provide you a life and childhood filled with love and affection, which I couldn't give you"

The child just blinked at him for some time and there was no chance he would have understood the things which were spoken to him. He could hear the family's vehicle approaching in the distance. Even without the Reiatsu Concealing Cloak, they wouldn't be able to see him since none of the family members have high spiritual energy/awareness, which was the first thing he checked before he chose them. He stood at a distance slightly away from the wreckage.

The boy missing the comforting presence of his father started crying loudly which was what Aizen wanted to happen. Seeing his son crying like that pained him more than he had expected. It was through sheer will power and determination that he was able to stay in the place still instead of going to comfort the crying the child. He could see the vehicle stop few meters ahead of the wreckage


	2. Finders Keepers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter notes: Lengthy and the story is still in the past. This chapter introduces the important characters both original and from the anime. The actual story starts from chapter 3 or 4, haven’t decided whether to put Aizen's point of view in the next chapter.

Kenshi had gotten out of his car swiftly the moment his car stopped hoping that he can aid to anyone involved in the accident but after looking at wreckage he wasn’t so sure about survivors, still the it is the right thing to check it out clearly since he can a make a great difference in the survival of another human being. Never in his life had he seen such a gruesome sight in person, the faces of the two adults were so disfigured that he felt that cops would be having difficulty in identifying them. He was trying hard not to puke because of the smell of burnt hair, skin, organs and various other bodily fluids. He had assumed that everyone in the car was dead and was about to leave until he heard a faint crying of a child coming from in between the corpses, gritting his teeth and holding his breath he pushed aside the corpses not so gently to find a child underneath them. He immediately took the crying child out of the wreckage and checked for any injuries it had obtained. But to his immense relief and shock he found the baby completely unharmed devoid of any injuries. Unfortunately for him he had pushed the corpses with more than he had intended to use and as a result a molten burned eyeball from one of corpses rolled out of its eye socket and touched his feet and he had stepped on it when he moved away from the car. Once he had realized what he has done, he had completely lost it. Trying hard to control the bile rising in his stomach he ran towards his car ,holding the child close to his chest .Luckily for him his wife Kasumi had stepped out of their car probably after seeing the horrifying expression on his face .He met her halfway and had transferred the baby into her hands ,he didn’t have to look at her face to know that she was extremely confused and surprised at the same time. Explanations have to wait because right now he has to throw up. And throw up he did. Thankfully their daughter was still in the car like they had asked her to. He did not want her to see him like this, after all he has certain standards to maintain.  
For Kasumi the day started as usual except that it wasn’t a normal day for her daughter. It was her birth day so she forgot all her sad thoughts of how she couldn’t give birth to another child. She knew that her husband never blamed her for it and even went to an extent of cutting ties with his relatives who were badmouthing her behind her back she felt really grateful to be married to such a kind hearted considerate man. For the whole day they had spent in the resort which they had booked ,seeing her daughter smile and scream in annoyance when her father splashed the water on her face made her forget all her worries at least for the moment .While travelling back home they had noticed a car accident on the road ,her husband asked her to keep Mizuo inside while he can go and check if he can help anyone. She wanted to stop him, to ask him to ignore it after all she had seen enough crime shows and heard incidents in the past where the looters or criminals will set a trap for unsuspecting people and then rob them ,they might even kill them or even worse than that she shuddered for a second trying to push those dark thoughts away .But the more logical and selfless part of her didn’t stop him from leaving but asked to run back the moment something goes wrong. She was able to distract herself from worrying by playing with her daughters’ hair who hated it and it kept her from running out of the car to the wreckage site where her husband had left few minutes ago. And from the look of sadness, revulsion and dejection on her husband’s face she could understand that whoever is in there had met a gruesome death, she felt really bad for them .But from the corner of her eye she could see her husband searching for something in the car and from his body language it seemed really urgent .So she decided to get out to help him out in case he needed it.   
“Sweety I am going to step outside a bit, be a good girl and stay inside the car.”  
The little girl looked as annoyed as girl of her age could get and replied with a pouty look on her face in a whiny manner  
“Buuut moom I am bored, I want to come with you too. The rain has stopped right and I won’t get sick like last time. And besides my legs are getting numb too. So please mom” replied the girl giving her patented puppy dog eyes.  
Kasumi sighed, for a four-year-old her daughter is as devious and intelligent as she can be and not to mention her patented puppy dog eyes were always their weakness and it would always win them over in any normal situation but not today ,the situation isn’t normal and from the look on her husband’s face, the way he was rummaging through the wreck meant that something was off. She too had an ace in her sleeve when her daughter threw her infamous tantrums or was too stubborn to listen to her. She gave her daughter a big mischievous smile and moved closer to her as if they she was going to tell her a secret  
“You know if you stay inside the car, I will get you anything you want once we get back home”  
The little girl perked up at her mother’s reply, she was trying hard not to give in but in the end her desire to get anything she wanted won over her curiosity to explore, so she shakily asked   
“A-Anything? Do you really mean it?” looking at her mother suspiciously as if she was trying to fool her.  
Kasumi would have laughed at her daughter’s expression if the situation was different but right now doesn’t want her to think that she was lying and trying to make fun of her. Years of being a model helped her school her expression to that of seriousness and replied in a serious tone   
“Of course, sweet heart, why would I lie to you especially on your birth day of all days?” and she really meant it.  
Her daughter was thinking for a long time and she doesn’t need to be a MIT graduate to know what she will ask ,after all the little girl has gotten obsessed with characters from the famous anime Rurouni Kenshin which she had started watching recently and now she can see her daughter fighting imaginary enemies with a katana and most of her talks always end up in that anime. She still blamed her husband for introducing their daughter to such a violent anime. She patiently waited for her daughter’s reply  
The said girl thought for some time before replying with a big grin on her face as if she had outsmarted her mother but in reality, she was the one who got outsmarted but no way Kasumi was going to tell her that   
“Wellll since you promised me anything, I want a katana just like the one Kenshin uses and I also want to join a kendo club, so that I can use that Katana in future to protect you and daddy from enemies “she said with absolute confidence laced with childish innocence.  
Kasumi groaned inwardly, of course she would ask a katana like she had predicted but still it bothered her why can’t It be a doll or a book or gaming console or cycle or jewellery? why should it be a weapon? Oh, she and her husband are going to have a really long talk, she inwardly ranted. But outwardly she just smiled and ruffled her daughter head affectionately and replied   
“Of course, we will get you the best katana ever made and will hire you the best kendo master in our town. So, you have to keep your side of deal and stay inside the car till dad returns all right “The girl just grinned and nodded.  
Kasumi got out of the car in time to see her husband running towards them with a bundle in his hand. What exactly is that bundle? And why did he look like he was about to throw up and somehow, he was holding it back? She rushed forward to meet her husband half way.   
She got the answer for her first question when the small bundle which turned out to be crying baby was transferred to her hand to her immense surprise and confusion. Multiple questions were popping up in her mind, how did the child survive the accident? what exactly happened here? what are they going to do? Were things really bad there? And why was her husband throwing up his dinner? Before she could ask all these questions her mind and body froze for a second. She forgot that there was a crying baby in her hand and mentally berating herself for being careless. Her motherly instinct took over and and immediately started checking for any injuries fearing the worst .But when she couldn’t find any external injuries she was slightly relieved .She held the crying baby close to her bosom and tried to comfort it but no matter what ,the baby wouldn’t stop crying ,she assumed that baby had sensed that something has happened to its parents and was crying for them.   
Kasumi was overwhelmed with emotions sadness and pity .She couldn’t stop herself from crying .Then she remembered the lullaby which her adoptive mom used to sing her when she was a kid whenever she cried so she held baby close to her bosoms and started singing the lullaby in her sweet but affectionate voice and hoped that would be enough to calm the child   
“   
You and I,  
We're like fireworks and symphonies exploding in the sky.  
With you, I'm alive  
Like all the missing pieces of my heart, they finally collide.  
So stop time right here in the moonlight,  
Cause I don't ever wanna close my eyes.  
Without you, I feel broke.  
Like I'm half of a whole.  
Without you, I've got no hand to hold.  
Without you, I feel torn.  
Like a sail in a storm.  
Without you, I'm just a sad song.  
I'm just a sad song.  
With you I fall.   
It's like I'm leaving all my past in silhouettes up on the wall.  
With you I'm a beautiful mess.  
It's like we're standing hand in hand with all our fears up on the edge.  
So, stop time right here in the moonlight,  
Cause I don't ever want to close my eyes.”   
As she sang the melodious lullaby she involuntarily started crying too, she was thankful that she got to sing this lullaby again to a child even if it’s not hers. By the time she had ended the song the child had calmed down and gave her a small toothy smile with some cooing noises while patting her face with its tiny hands. She in turn gave a watery smile. She decided to check if the child is a boy or girl so that she can address him or her properly instead of calling the child it. She found out that the child was a boy. For the first time since the baby was handed over to her, she saw how his brown eyes looked beautiful when he blinked or looked at her. She was mesmerized immediately by those eyes and innocent look on the child’s face. She was somehow drawn to this little human in her hand and for once in her life she was without a reason ,was it because she was shocked and surprised that a mere child had somehow miraculously survived an accident or was it because the thoughts which she had suppressed within herself about not able to conceive another child or was it because of the song which she just sang and the way she held the baby to calm him down reminded her of how she used to do it for her own daughter when she was a baby or was it because of some unknown which she can’t comprehend?. But one is for certain she knew that without a doubt that she is getting attached to the drooling human in her hand.   
Kenshi was watching the interaction between his wife and the child. The way she responded when he handed over the child, her motherly instincts taking over to check for any external injuries and making sure the child is all right. When the child wouldn’t stop crying, she started singing the lullaby which he was familiar with, the same lullaby/song which she sang when their daughter couldn’t or when she was distressed and it worked too. But the unfortunate side effect of singing the song was she was crying and he was pretty sure of the reason. For the first time in his entire life he felt helpless and powerless no matter what he did, he wouldn’t be able to take away the pain from her, at the max he can comfort her to the point where she will forget it for a day or two but then those thoughts will come back to haunt her again. He cleared his head pushing all those depressing thoughts out of his mind, he can’t let himself to be drowned in sorrow not when his better half needed him the most. He was about to move forward to comfort her but stopped in his tracks when he laid his eyes upon most adorable and beautiful sight, the baby had calmed down and was patting her face with its tiny hands giggling making baby noises as if the woman holding him can understand it but the most surprising thing was his wife smiling back ,not one of her fake pretend smile which she usually does when she meets some random paparazzi who don’t even know or can’t understand the meaning of the word privacy, even though she retired from modelling longtime ago ,this was one of those real affectionate smile the ones which were reserved for their family only their family i.e him and their daughter , not even to their close friends or relatives. It’s not that her smile wasn’t sincere with them, it’s just doesn’t contain the warmth, love and affection. But here he was witnessing his wife giving that smile to someone other than their family and the fact the child had managed to make her smile in a short time was another surprise.  
When she gets into one of those guilt/despair moods, it takes at least an hour for her to recover even with both his daughter and him double teaming. He couldn’t help himself but chuckle at the adorable site. He could clearly see the adoration and warmth in her eyes when she looked at the baby, the same way she looked at their daughter but only that she is doing it without her knowing which might be really painful when they have to part with the child. If only time travel was possible he would go back in time and kick himself for being too enthusiastic about having two children which was partly responsible for Kasumi’s need to have another child and partly because of the pretty lonely child hood she had and which she didn’t want their daughter to go through it. And it’s not like he didn’t think about keeping the child with them. It’s just felt wrong for him, at least not without finding about the identity of the couple who were killed in the accident.   
Speaking of their daughter, the little girl was still inside the car playing with her doll which was rare sight to see since she would probably would be out by now either playing one of her imaginary katana fighting games or questioning about the place where they are in ,he had expected her to follow him to the wreckage site ,something which he wouldn’t want her to see so early in her life, hell if possible not in her entire life. Whatever Kasumi had promised must be really huge thing for her to stay inside the car and play with dolls which she hated so much.   
He placed his arm around his wife’s shoulder, carefully not disturb the moment she and the child were sharing and joined her in looking at the child. The child for his part wasn’t startled or alarmed by his presence. It just looked at him for few seconds, he could feel the intelligent brown eyes on him as if it was gazing into his soul analysing if he is a threat or not, then the baby smiled at him after what it seemed like an eternity and blabbered something in baby talk as if it was greeting him. He was curious to find out whether the child was a boy or a girl but was too afraid to check it out fearing that it might upset the child and disrupt the moment.   
And there was another reason why he didn’t check it out was he was afraid of what Kasumi might do to him if he made the boy cry again after she had spent time singing to calm it down .He still remembered the incident where he had accidently woke their daughter from sleep, he had just returned from his business trip and was in a hurry to meet his daughter after missing her for a long time. He made a beeline towards her and announced loudly that he was back and that he missed her a lot. Unfortunately for him luck wasn’t on his side on that day since his daughter had a serious crying/screaming bout, it took his wife nearly 2 hours to calm her down and was resting in her room exhausted. He wasn’t aware of any of these incidents which had occurred that day prior to his arrival. His daughter didn’t take it kindly to be awakened like that and once again started crying even more louder than before. What happened next was a secret he would carry to his grave but he had learned two things that day how terrifying his wife can when she was pissed and the fear of angering a woman. Remembering this and instead of repeating the mistake he decided to go with the flow   
“Hey there little err guy or are you a girl “he asked the child while gingerly running his hand over the child’s hair afraid that even a small action might result in the baby ending up in a crying bout. To his immense relief the baby didn’t cry but just blinked at him when he asked that question followed some gibberish in baby language as if it was answering his question. Kenshi just nodded his head as if he understood what the baby said and he had the sudden urge to pinch the baby’s chubby cheek since it’s been three years, he did that to his daughter. So, with that intent he brought his hand near the baby’s face only for it to grab his hand especially the forefinger in its small chubby hand, he stilled for a moment ,his mind trying to understand /process what just happened ,then he tried to gently pry his finger from the baby’s hand only for it also to be grabbed by other hand by the baby .Kenshi groaned thie was not what he had expected ,he looked at the child who had an innocent look on his face . He groaned   
“You are evil, you know that.” he told the baby in a whiny tone but not meaning those words. He would have pointed his finger at the child had it not been under arrest by the kid’s hands so he just nodded his head in that direction. The baby started laughing after hearing his whiny tone.   
Kasumi was trying her best not to laugh at her husband’s situation but failed miserably when she heard the tone in which he spoke to the boy. The unamused look on his face didn’t help her much either.  
“Oh, Kenshi the look on your face is really hilarious and the tone you used seconds is even more hilarious. You still don’t haven’t learnt how to deal with babies, hahaha you should have seen your face when he caught your other hand too. And for your information the child is a boy and you still haven’t gotten over your fear of making babies accidentally cry, haven’t you? “giving her husband a mischievous look ignoring the glare thrown in her direction by him.   
Kenshi gave an indignant scoff before replying   
“whose fault do you think that is? After all you were the one who put that fear in me, all I did was to announce my presence to our daughter”  
Kasumi gave a smile, not the pleasant smile which she had on her face moments ago. Kenshi felt a chill up on his spine and his instincts screaming at him to say something before it’s too late.  
“Its partly my fault for not checking whether she was sleeping or not” he immediately added.  
Kasumi just rose her eyebrows and her face having the same smile   
“Partly? Hmm You are not blaming me now, are you Kenshi?” She asked sweetly in an innocent tone.   
To a stranger the tone would look innocent and filled with sweetness. But Kenshi face got even more paler since he was no stranger and he had heard this tone well enough to know that he had unknowingly and unwillingly had stepped on a landmine and it was about to go off any moment.  
“N-No I wasn’t, you misunderstood what I said dear Kasumi. Afterall it was you who put her to sleep calming her down when she threw the small tantrum” he blurted it out in a nervous tone trying to placate his wife.   
Kasumi was looking at his face for a moment before giving him a slight smile but one could see a mischievous glint in her eyes as if she faked the whole thing. Kenshi gave a sigh of relief. The boy child had apparently sensed his discomfort and nervousness and for some he found it funny so he started giggling at him.  
Kenshi glared at the boy playfully both his forefingers held still held in between his palm  
“Let’s see how you are going to handle, when you see the same smile and same tone which Kasumi just used little guy”.  
The baby just blinked before focusing his attention towards the person of interest   
Kasumi snorted   
“Don’t worry little one that tone and smile is only reserved for this man child here, not for you and your sister”   
Kenshi’s eyes widened for a second at his wife’s last sentence especially last two words. He realized that his wife had already gotten herself too attached to the little baby boy something which he had predicted few minutes ago but not this extent. To be honest he could find himself drawn to the little human in her hands, how could he not after all the boy was cute and adorable, more importantly a survivor not many would have survived the accident which reminded him of his own old man whom the doctors had predicted that he would never live beyond 50 years but he fought against all the odds to live up to 65 years till the disease got better of him. Not to mention there was something really intelligent about those curious brown eyes of the boy. And another reason he had started to care about the baby was that he was able to make his wife happy and at least for a moment he was able to make her forget all her worries, self-doubts and guilty feeling for which he was really grateful to the boy.   
Besides he had firsthand experience of what it means to lose both the parents at a very young age. His mother had died giving birth to him and his dad passed away when he was 18 barely an adult but at least he had his aunt, grandmother and elder cousin who guided him and raised him properly, but his wife on the other hand though wasn’t lucky enough she too had lost her parents at the same time as a child but unlike his case her relatives did not want to raise her so they had put her in an orphanage which was not a really pleasant experience for her based on the what she had told him about her childhood and still there are things /incidents which hasn’t shared with him yet but, to have endured such things yet she had come out of it with her good nature and kindness intact . After hearing those stories, he felt that he was really lucky that he had a caring aunt who was a mother to him ,grandmother who took over the role of his father and a cousin who was a brother from different mother but his wife on the other hand had never enjoyed and experienced such familial affections during her childhood .He can’t imagine himself in her position and was not sure if he would remain the same person as he was right now had he experienced such hardships and cruelties. His wanted to give her all the love and affection which she had missed as a child but in trying to do that he had unknowingly imposed his selfish thoughts on her ,which was one of the reasons for her feeling guilty .  
But coming to the current situation in hand ,he did not want the child to undergo the pain and suffering of losing one’s parents at a young age. He looked at child, then at wreckage and then at his wife who was running her hand over the boy’s head and then at his car where their daughter was playing with her doll completely oblivious to the events happening outside. Suddenly an idea came up in his mind they could actually take the child along with them and no one will know that. They could make up some story about how they found an abandoned child near the resort and they had gotten attached to him and wanted to adopt him, informing the authorities only about the bodies they had discovered in the accident site omitting the part where they had actually found him in the car unharmed. All he had to do now was to create a proper story and alibi to convince the authorities which he can do with a proper thinking and time. Convincing his wife and daughter won’t be that difficult, his wife might object initially but he is sure that her attachment towards the boy will win her over.  
The moment the plan formulated on his mind ,he felt like a scum for many reasons like thinking about using his wife’s attachment to the boy in convincing her, thinking like that without discussing it with his family ,he even wanted to take the child with them without confirming or verifying if he has any relatives left ,whether they are good people or not and more importantly he had even planned to fabricate evidences to support his story in trying to fool the authorities which could spoil the lives of the people involved if discovered ,he was ashamed for thinking selfishly even if he had good intentions. He sighed and shook his head before speaking  
“Kasumi what are we going to do with the child now? You already know that his parents didn’t survive the accident, the fact that this little guy had survived itself is a miracle and I don’t want him to go through the suffering and pain of losing his parents at a young age. So, I had initially wanted to make up a story in such a way that authorities won’t know that this little guy survived the wreckage so that we can take him home and raise him as our son. But then thought better of it, not the part of adopting him but the part of lying to the authorities. And now I would like to know what you think we should do with the child, shall we adopt him or shall we leave him to the authorities hoping that he has any relatives who are willing to take care of him with care and affection instead being sent to an orphanage? I want you to take your time and think carefully before deciding. I would go along with anything you decide after all we are a family”   
Kasumi’s mind froze for a second trying to process what her husband just said, specifically the part where he wanted to adopt the kid and raise him as their son. She hasn’t gotten that thought yet but feels that if she keeps spending some more time with the child she might get it .She can understand what Kenshi was trying to say here ,thinking about her time in the orphanage and how her relatives dumped her there without a second thought ,she can understand his worries that it might happen in this case too, even though the social services and government has become strict when it comes to well fare of the children in the orphanage now a days but still a part of her which is still skeptical about these strict measures and checkups in the orphanage by the government doesn’t want the boy to undergo /experience the same as events as her. She shouldn’t be judging the child’s relative just like that after all Kenshi’s grand ma ,aunt and his cousin were there for him when he lost his parents unlike hers but no matter what when it comes to situations like these she had always been narrow minded and quick to judge ,a trait she had developed due to her past and something which she is still trying to change .  
They had actually talked about adopting a child previously but she was bit hesitant about it, not that there is anything wrong with adopting, it’s just she felt at that time she wouldn’t be able to care and love the child like her own and she might end up hurting him/her unintentionally and then the child might come to hate her for that. But now holding the baby in her hand ,the emotional attachment she feels towards him makes adopting him easier than she had thought it would be and she can feel it in her bones that she could /would raise this child like hers with proper care and affection just like how she feels towards her daughter. She realized that all her hesitancy and fear vanished the moment she held him in her hands. But there is a big problem, like Kenshi said they could take the child home and make up a story about how they found him on their way back home and had immediately gotten attached to him hence they adopted him ,if they plan it well then they can pull it off without arising any suspicion besides the police chief’s family is very close to theirs so they can call in few favors to hide this. But a question she was asking herself was can she be selfish for once? To hide the truth of a child’s family from him just so she can raise him as their own not to mention those activities being questionable in nature ,it’s not like they haven’t done anything illegal before it’s just those weren’t this extreme .And she didn’t even think what her husband will think about her if she decides to go with his plan, will he be disappointed in her though he did say he would go with anything she decides .She looked at the child in her hand ,then at her husband and then at their daughter in the car ,then she started thinking again ,not noticing the worried look from her husband .   
Kenshi knew that it will be difficult for Kasumi to decide between trying to do the right thing and being selfish for once by giving in to her desires. But there are things which no one can decide other than themselves and this is one such situation. He did say that he would be ok with anything she chooses and he will keep up that promise no matter what .And besides it would be hypocritical of him to judge her decisions since he himself had thought of taking the kid back home with them without informing anyone .It looks his wife has decided what she wanted to do with the situation  
“I want to take the child back with us to our home ,then we inform the authorities about this accident officially omitting the survival of this child but unofficially we will inform Honsho San and Ishida San about the baby and call in a personnel favor with them , since both of them are our family friends they might understand the situation though convincing ishida san would be difficult since he will be the one to provide a fake birth certificate and medical certificate for this child confirming that he is ours and that the child had some medical condition which forced us to leave the child in his care at the hospital for some time and now that condition is cured we are taking him back to our home ,then we discreetly check if the deceased couple have any living relatives. Incase if they have, we will make sure that they sign the adoption papers and NDA after paying them enough cash to make sure that they would remain silent about the situation. Then we will publicly announce the boy as our son before some pesky reporter finds about him so things wouldn’t be suspicious “Kasumi informed him the plan which she had formulated few minutes ago with a big smile on her face.  
Kenshi was gob smacked. He had assumed that nothing could surprise him than a mere toddler surviving a gruesome accident but his wife’s crazy dangerous plan just outdid it by miles .Never in his life would he have thought that his wife who followed procedures and rules, the one who got mad at him for bribing some government officials or when he did something slightly illegal forcing him to sleep on the couch ,the same woman had managed to come up with a plan which not only involves lying also convincing not one but two authoritarian figures to support their lies but also paying the supposed relatives of the child to be silent and forget about his existence. Not to mention this was just half of her plan, he did not even want to think about the other half, fearing that his brain would shut off if he did.   
He sighed and he would have rubbed his face with his hands had it not been for the fact they were held hostage by the little boy, for a child the boy sure is strong he thought to himself. The plan itself wasn’t bad in fact it was better than his at the least, convincing Honsho and Ishida to be an accomplice to his wife’s crazy plan was not an easy job but it was not a difficult job either but, there was a major flaw on the plan .Adopting the boy was one thing but announcing him as their real son was something more problematic, once the press/media hears this info about them having a second child .It would be a field day for them ,some of most predictable but problematic questions which they might ask are “where was child born?, why didn’t they announce his birth earlier ?,when was he born ?,why did they hide him from public ? and many more to which they could answer if planned properly which requires lot of time ,time which they would not have depending on how fast they find the relatives so technically the entire plan depends on finding the boy’s relatives .But for the moment he will go along the with the flow and take the child to their home, where they can rest, plan properly and have private conversation with few people . And of course, they have to inform the authorities about this accident.   
“All right Kasumi lets go with your plan but it needs to be flawless and fool proof, lets inform the authorities about this accident now, then after reaching home lets have a private conversation with Honsho and Ishida. I’m not sure how they are going to take in this situation but we have to try hard to convince them to be on our side which would be really helpful for our case” he stopped to gauge his wife’s reaction.  
Kasumi for her part was paying attention to what he was saying with calm and collected expression on her face while she was running her hands over the child ‘s hair.  
“But the main issue is how we are going to make the media believe in the story which we are going to cook up or which you have already cooked up? We have to plan about this part clearly since one mistake might be the end for all of us and also time taken to find the kids relatives plays a major role too. The quicker we find them, the easier it will be for us to convince them to hand over the rights for this little guy” he nodded at the baby.  
Kasumi had a frown on her face the moment Kenshi mentioned about the media, she had an expression which looked as if she had swallowed a bitter pill.   
People always assumed that being a celebrity means that they are immune to everything thrown at them by the press and the media which isn’t true, in fact the celebs are the ones who are more affected by them, being monitored for 24 hrs ,not even enjoying a single moment of peace in a public place without being followed by the pesky reporters or crazy fans, each and every action of theirs scrutinized . Tabloids, magazines, newspapers, blogs, and other forms of media constantly judge celebrities on their personalities, habits, bodies, and a lot more. From a layperson's point of view, it's like having a million people talk behind your back on a daily basis. Moreover, celebrities have no privacy, Kasumi could recall a handful of times where she had a dinner with Kenshi or her friends in a public place without getting interrupted either by a crazy stalker fan or tabloids. Lastly and more importantly being a celebrity means that you have to control your emotions no matter how rude annoying the reporters were behaving or how creepy some of the fans were acting around them, they still have to handle the situation with a smile on their face calmly ,god forbid if anyone of them for once acted a bit angry /rude then the entire story would be twisted and they would be seen as the person who wronged them not the other way around ,the stress she had to go through because of it was too much.   
So she knew firsthand how the media can /will make the story into a drama and try to ruin their family not that they succeeded in their efforts ,after all being a celebrity comes with a price of having lot of fake friends and enemies ,in her case it was more than the usual amount because of the way she dealt with the tabloids and other back stabbers/cutthroats in the industry. And after the birth of their daughter they had to sue many of those newspapers and get restraining orders for invasion of privacy and spying on their family affairs illegally.   
In spite of the warning, an article about her complete disappearance from the eyes of the public was published speculating that she had given birth to a second child. The real reason for her disappearance was that she was indeed admitted to Ishida sans hospital because she had come up with an illness and the treatment for it required her presence in the hospital for 10 months but the fools running those gossip papers didn’t know about it and had written that garbage on a whim .The only reason why none of the parties involved had sued them was not out of good will or that they were too magnanimous ,it was because they didn’t have time and patience to correct these claims made by idiots and the sheep who believed it .But now thinking about it she can use the same nonsense to their advantage and fool them into believing their story.   
She looked at her husband with a big grin on her face and replied   
“We don’t have do anything to fool the media since they themselves have given us a way out unintentionally”  
Kenshi was confused for a moment before realization dawned upon his face   
“Please tell me that you are not talking about that article which was published a year ago? “he asked incredulously. He prayed to whatever deity watching over him that that’s not the one she is referring too. But the more logical part of his mind reminded him that’s the only article which they can use to their advantage and that considering his wife’s hatred for these tabloids( not that he find it wrong in fact those scums deserved every bit of vengeance Kasumi had planned in her mind , it’s just that he didn’t want to take a risk in this situation not when a kid is involved in it ) ,it would be the most obvious one .But still he prayed in his mind for his own satisfaction while waiting for her reply.  
Kasumi looked at her husband with the same smile on her face but this time there was glint in her eyes   
“Yes, the same one where they had mentioned that I had given birth to another child whom we are still hiding from the eyes of the public. Since I have grown tired of being paranoid and have no reason to hide the child anymore, so hence we are acknowledging the truth in public. I mean we didn’t respond to their speculation which turned out to be a blessing in disguise for us. And its about time we put a stop to those ridiculous talks about us being paranoid and I can’t find a better way than this. It’s a win win situation for us, we can keep the little guy with us legally without any trouble and the tabloid can’t question /investigate us without losing their integrity “she replied as if her plan was perfectly normal and didn’t have any hidden agenda or intent in it.  
Kenshi was about to call her on for her blatant lie but thought better of it and glint in her eye might have played a part too. He sighed again, it seems he had been doing that a lot today at least their daughter wasn’t there to see his hand being held hostage by her soon to be brother, their new son, son a relationship which he thought wouldn’t be calling anytime soon. But, here he is calling this little guy their son and he was pretty sure that their daughter would gladly accept him as her brother. Speaking of her, why is she still in the car playing with her dolls or at least she was pretending to because as far as he knows she abhors that activity like how her mother abhors the tabloids ,dirt sheets and gossip news shows. Their daughter was a perfect mix of both of them in appearance and character ,she had inherited his hair colour and nose but her eyes on contrary were her mothers ,character vise she is just like her mother sweet ,caring ,shrewd when need to be ,highly perceptive but scarily enough she had inherited both her mother’s temper and ability to hold grudge not to mention she also had inherited his stubbornness which was a bad combination when she threw a temper tantrum or something pissed her off but stubbornness was not the only character she had inherited from him ,she like him was a skilled leader even though she hasn’t got any chance to showcase it ,he had no doubts that she will in the future and the ability to think clearly even in tense situation. His thoughts froze when he realized something and before he could stop himself, he swore  
“Shit”   
This would have earned him a slap on the head from his wife after all they had a no swearing rule around any kids. But since she was holding the child, Kasumi could only express her displeasure through her voice  
“ Kenshi !,thought we had a rule about not swearing in front of kids, what happened to that ?”she said with as much as annoyance she could muster in her voice .  
This only got a chuckle form her husband which only annoyed her further   
“What is so funny about my question? Care to elaborate, then may I can also laugh “her voice had an edge to it and she was giving her husband the evil eye.  
He only smiled at her in a placating manner and replied   
“I was laughing not at your question but at the situation and it’s my only way not freaking out. That’s also the reason why I swore“   
Kasumi was confused now, what was there to laugh at the situation other than the fact that they were practically committing a crime which was equivalent to stealing a baby from its parents and faking a s tory about how it was theirs ,in fact her husband should be freaking out or at least getting tensed once the adrenaline had subsided but instead he swore and then was laughing for no reason. She was worried that stress from the situation had started affecting her husband and that’s why he was laughing and so she cautiously questioned her husband in a calm placating tone  
“Kenshi you are ok right ?No stress or anything right? .If you are too stressed about this whole plan we can find a different way to keep this guy with us ,no harm done. So please tell me why you were laughing all of a sudden? I am slightly worried”  
After hearing that ,Kenshi was looking at her like she had grown an extra head .How on the earth did she come to a conclusion like that .He was slightly offended that she had assumed that he would get easily stressed ,an accident like this nor the crazy plan his wife came up with not that he would tell that to her face he wouldn’t want to spend his night on the couch ,thank you very much. He smirked at his wife and was amused to see her demeanor change from worried calm to annoyance /anger .So he slightly chuckled and replied   
“Two words our daughter”  
Kasumi was first confused why would he laugh thinking about their daughter, then she realized what her husband meant and why was he had come so close to freaking out. Now this time she swore and it was worse than Kenshi’s  
“ Oh fuck what are we going to do Kenshi?”  
Kenshi started laughing loudly at his wife’s swearing and her reaction when she realized what he meant by their daughter being the reason and decided to make fun of the situation after all it wouldn’t do any good if they started freaking out  
“Isnt this what they call as Pot calling the kettle back? How ironic. Sweet heart you finally swore that too in front of a child who also happens to be our future son “  
“Hahahahahahahahahaahahahaha and the reason for it was not the cops or tabloids or gossip news talk shows or any pesky reporters but our daughter ,hahahahahahahaha this is hilarious ,I wish I had a camera so that I could capture this moment ,your reaction was so adorable and funny at the same time.I knew that you will swear at a point in your life but I didn’t think that the cause would be our daughter “saying that he continued laughing not noticing the glare thrown in his direction or the change in expression in his wife’s face.   
Kasumi was initially embarrassed by the fact that she had lost her composure and swore in front of a child, she had enough grace to blush at her momentous mis slip of decorum. But her husbands continuous laughing at her embarrassment was getting on her nerves he was so busy with mocking that he didn’t even notice the glare which she had sent his way, which annoyed her even further. Before she could say something, the baby started laughing at her too. The laugh was infectious that she couldn’t control her laughter either her anger/annoyance disappeared in seconds. She looked at the baby in mock anger and said with a pout on her face   
“You traitor “she exclaimed dramatically which got her husband’s attention, she continued  
“Laughing at your future mothers’ misfortune eh you little devil” and she started smiling too .  
Kenshi replied   
“Wow that’s a record not even I and our daughter together combined wouldn’t be able to calm you down in such a short time when you get annoyed. Maybe I should start making this little guy laugh a lot then.”  
Kasumi replied in mockingly sweet tone while moving her hand through the boy’s hair in an affectionate manner   
“This little guy is the only reason why you are not sleeping in the couch today and you remember that”  
Kenshi’s face paled and he gulped which in turn got a satisfied smirk from her. Wanting to change the subject he asked her the question which had been in his mind from the moment he had seen their daughter sitting inside the car peacefully instead of being her usual curious boisterous self  
“Ehh Kasumi what did you do to persuade our daughter to sit inside the car peacefully instead of her being her usual self? You didn’t make a deal or pact with devil or something to achieve this right ??”  
Kasumi had momentarily forgotten about her promise to her daughter but her husband in an attempt to change the conversation had reminded her of it. She frowned at that question initially, remembering exactly what she had promised her daughter for her birth day present. Ironically the person responsible for their daughter’s obsession with katanas had asked the question reminding her of the rant she had in her mind .Then an evil idea popped in her mind ,her husband wouldn’t have expected what she had promised their daughter in return for her staying inside the car till he returns to their car ,since he knew about her dislike blood and violence .The expression on his face after his mind had processed properly the answer she will be replying for his question would be too hilarious oh how she wished that she had a camera with her so that she could record everything her husband had said or done for past few minutes ,like how he had struggled with the child ,his hands being held hostage by the child etc. Smirking internally, she schooled her features and with a big smile on her face she replied her last sentence laced with sweetness and mirth   
“Oh, I didn’t do anything of such caliber, just promised her something which she had asked me in return she will be staying in the car till you return. And you know she had been asking us that for a long time “   
Kenshi was surprised at that reply and he was even proud of his wife for achieving something that is near impossible single handedly or that’s what he was thinking till he heard the last sentence which made him backpedal his thought process ,the sweetness and mirth in that sentence along with the big grin on her face and the amusement in her eyes didn’t sit well with him either. So he quickly started recalling al lthe conversations their daughter had with them related to gifts especially the ones in which both he and his wife had refused to buy her that item. It wasn’t that difficult for him to find out what his wife had promised to buy their daughter and for a second, he thought she must be joking after all Kasumi hated anything related to blood, violence and knifes. But compared to their courtship days she somewhat got accustomed to it after all she had to put up with two adrenaline junkies in their home .The second one, their daughter became not only an adrenaline junky but also a Katana obsessed junkie ,the second one was his fault actually after he had introduced her to the action animes involving Katana wielding protagonists recently and one among them is her favorite “Rurouni Kenshin” , after started watching this she had demanded/requested/pleaded to them to buy her a Katana. That’s the only thing they had refused their daughter so far .It was at this moment he realized what his wife had promised to get her. He looked at his wife in shock ,trying hard not believe what he had just discovered.  
Kasumi for her part gave her husband a smirk when she saw that perfect imitation fish out of water expression on her husband’s face. The smirk turned into full scale laughter since she couldn’t control it. Her husband’s expressions never cease to amuse her. She sighed dreamily. it’s one of the reasons why she fell in love with him in the first place. And for some reason their daughter hadn’t inherited her father’s humor but instead had inherited her side of personality. She looked at her husband who was having a hard time in believing what he had just realized .  
“No its not a joke ,I have promised to get her a katana ,no im not happy about it ,It’s a price we have to pay for her to be inside the car for a short time. And besides its her birth day , we have not denied her anything on her birthday and I had unfortunately promised her to get anything ,so I have to keep up my words “  
Unfortunately for Kenshi’s his self denial was short lived after hearing it from his wifes mouth.If the promise had been made by him ,he would have twisted it in his favor after all he was a successful business man and one of the richest person in Japan for nothing but it was his wife who had promised it. One thing he liked the most about his wife is that she is a woman of her words, once she had promised something she would never go back on it until she had fulfilled the promise. So asking her to twist the word is out of the equation .By the look on her face he could see that she was enjoying his suffering .He glared playfully at her   
“Why do I feel like that you are enjoying this so much ?. And there is no way I can convince you out of this isn’t it?”  
Kasumi simply shrugged or at least tried as best as she could and replied   
“And whose fault do you think it is that she asked for a katana? If I am going through this then at I might as well enjoy your hilarious expressions and suffering. But you are not going to do that with this little guy right? Our home has more than enough adrenaline junkies”   
Kenshi groaned then mumbled a reply which faintly sounded like yes.  
Satisfied with his reply she nodded and grinned. She then reached husband and patted his head like how a mother would pat a child which only got a glare from him.  
While both parents were fooling around with each other , they didn’t notice their daughter who was inside the car the whole time stepping outside the car .The little girl was in the car playing with her dolls silently even though she doesn’t like it ,in fact she would rather spending the time outside the car than inside but her mother had promised her to get a katana which she had wanted for a looong time if she remain inside till her dad gets back . And she was there even after her dad had returned but the funny part was that it was her mother’s loud laugh that finally drew her attention from her dolls. She noted that her father had returned surprisingly with a child or at least that’s what she saw from her point of view inside the car. Being curious by nature she opened the door of the car to inquire about it   
“Mom !! Dad!!” she yelled to gain their attention startling the unsuspecting parents. It took all their will power not flinch or jump and the other thing was the kid. The poor unsuspecting parents had not expected their daughter to do that but knowing her well they should have at least paid attention to what she was doing from time to time.  
Kasumi was the first to recover from the surprise. She knew that screaming or yelling at her daughter isn’t going to help anyone in the situation. She should have known that at some point the little girl would have gotten bored in playing with her dolls and would have snuck out. The fact that she had stayed inside the car itself for a long time was a miracle, not to mention the reward she got in return played a part in it too. She glared at her daughter or at least pretended to which didn’t have any effect on her since her attention was focused on the little being in her hand. Before she could say anything, her husband started talking   
“Geez Mizuo!!! You nearly gave me a heart attack with your scream. Warn a person before you do something like that. You know that your old man I not as courageous as your mom, right? ,even though she was also bit scared ”Kenshi spoke ignoring the glare thrown in his direction by his wife for the scred comment.  
This got a giggle from the little girl   
“I didn’t mean to scare you this time dad and its not my fault you are so easy to scare .Besides I was bored sitting inside the car and I came out because of mom’s laughter and Is that really a baby in her hand ,Can we keep it ??Please mom ,dad I will take good care of it. I will feed it regularly and play dress up with it “she replied in her childish voice with a clarity and maturity so unlike a child but with an enthusiasm so like a child.  
Kenshi could only stare at his daughter dumbly. Kasumi on the other hand wasn’t impressed   
“Mizuo!!! Didn’t I tell you to stay inside the car? Why are you outside? its bit dangerous young lady so get back inside the car and for your information babies are not pets you know.” she said in a tone which left no room for arguments.  
But mizuo just blinked at her mother before replying in a innocent tone or as innocent as child of her age could speak  
“But mom you were the one who told me to stay inside the car till dad comes back. I was inside the car till I heard your loud laughing and the baby in your arm. I was already bored and was curious too. So, I got out, so I didn’t break the promise.”  
Kenshi started laughing after hearing that but one look at his wife who was slightly embarrassed his laughter became twice as loud as before. Kasumi could only glare at him before she looked at her daughter with a sheepish smile on her face and replied   
“It’s true that you had kept your word but still I prefer you would rather stay inside the car since it’s safer and warm. And to your question we found this baby inside that car and since no one was there we thought we could take him with us “Kasumi paused waiting for her daughters reaction after telling her daughter the half-truth (despite the fact her daughter being too mature for her age still there are things which should not be told to a kid).  
Kenshi was bit surprised that his wife had told their daughter the truth or at least what they could tell a kid .He didn’t expect her to ask her that question ,knowing his wife he had assumed that she would be bit creative and crafty about informing their daughter about the new future family member if thinks go well according to the plan. A logical part of him agreed that what his wife did was better than their daughter discovering the entire truth when she grew up, this might probably avoid any further misunderstandings in the future.  
The little girl’s full attention was focused on the kid in her mother’s arm, realizing this Kasumi continued from where she had left   
“So that he can become a part of our family. This baby might become your brother if you want him to be “   
Mizuo didn’t reply but instead was looking at the baby with interest. Kasumi beckoned her daughter to come closer so that she can have a better look at the boy. Apparently, the said baby had realized the presence of the new comer and was staring right back at her. Soon it turned out to be a staring contest between the two children, to the amusement of the adults who shared a look.  
Finally, it was mizuo who lost the unofficial staring contest but the girl had a small smile on her face. She like her mother touched the baby’s cheek and started playing with it, eliciting a giggle from the child. It was at this moment mizuo declared something with a maturity so uncommon for a child,  
“I’m going to be the best big sister you could ever have and I’m going to protect you from villains and bad guys who would try to make you cry “  
The adults chuckled at that declaration thinking that the girl was trying to imitate one of those protagonists from her the anime she was watching but they didn’t realize how serious she was at that time or how hard she would try to keep up that promise.  
After having a good laugh at their daughters expense the adults decided to proceed with the plan they had talked about. Kenshi had called the authorities and informed them about the accident withholding the information about the baby they had found in the car and after giving them his contact information. Then he proceeded to call Ryuken and Honsho (somehow the baby had let his hand free since he was busy playing with mizuo) in a conference call informing both of them that he want to talk to them immediately in private if they are available .Somehow he had managed to convince them to meet them at their home without giving away anything he did say that it has got to do something with accident which both the men were informed about since Ryuken’s hospital being the one usually dealing with cases/incidents such as this and Honsho being the chief police authority .Though Kenshi felt that Ryuken had seen through his lies or at least suspected that something was off , Honsho was more worried than suspicious about his call ,not as perceptive of Ryuken was but still perceptive in his own way after all he is the top police official for the district .The only difference between both men was Ryuken was slightly less empathetic than Honsho or more appropriate to say doesn’t show emotions externally .But the bottom line was he had somehow managed to convince them to meet him at his place in an hour or two.  
Before they leave, he wanted to check the car one last time If he could find anything to know if they had named the baby or something which he can give him as a remembrance to his parents like a chain or a ring or a photo album. Kasumi was slightly against it but she understood the meaning behind his intention.no child should be denied of the name given by his parents even if he might not know the truth for the time being.  
Kenshi couldn’t find anything which would give information about the child’s name but he managed to find a pendant in the seat where he had found the baby first. The pendant looked like a halfmoon except that it was mixture of black and white stripes instead of complete white, if one could look closer the pendant was emitting a slightly unnatural but protective aura. Kenshi didn’t pay much attention though since he was glad that he was able to find something which the child had gotten from his family. He returned back with the pendant.  
“I was able to find only this pendant and nothing about his name or date of birth” he said handing over the pendant to his wife and taking the baby from her.   
Kasumi looked at pendant and for a second, she felt an aura emitting from it before it completely vanished. But she just assumed that it was nothing but her mind playing tricks with her. Both the children were looking at the pendant in her hand.   
“Wow, it’s a really pretty pendant “her daughter exclaimed with a slight awe and excitement in her voice.   
Kenshi chuckled slightly before replying  
“It is isn’t it?. Guess who is going to get it?  
Mizuo pondered for a second before replying  
“Mom already promised me a present so it’s not for me. You don’t like to wear chain or pendant so its not for you either. Mom has lots and lots of jewels at home even though she rarely uses all of them I wonder why she still buys them. Since she has lots of them, I think it’s not for her. So the only one left is the baby so is this for him?” she asked looking at her dad.  
Kenshi had a hard time trying to control his laughter but the sour/embarrassed look on his wife’s face on hearing mizuo roasting her unintentionally was making it hard for him. This didn’t go unnoticed by her though ,if looks could kill Kenshi would have died multiple times ,each death being painful than before. Kasumi simply mouthed two words “Couch today”, which put a stop to his laughter. But Kenshi thought that it was worth it.  
He looked at his daughter and replied   
“Yes, you are right sweet heart, would you like to put it on the baby?”  
Mizuo looked at her mother with wide eyes and questioned   
“Can I mum, please?”  
Of course, Kasumi couldn’t deny her daughter when she looked at her with her puppy dog eyes. Once Mizuo had finished putting the ornament around the baby’s neck. She asked her parents something which neither of them had given a thought about  
“Mom, dad are we going to call the baby just baby, are we not going name him? Its going to be confusing and difficult calling him only baby”   
Both adults were surprised that it was their daughter who had thought about it and not them. After throwing in many names like Byakuran, Murata, Itachi, Kenichi and Tsuna which were Kesnhi’s suggestion him being a fan of shounen anime. Kasumi refused to name the baby after anime characters threw her own suggestions like Kenzaburo, Haruki, Ryu, Shintaro and Kenzo, her being fan of post ww2 modern Japanese literature writers, which in turn were vetoed by Kenshi. After some childish argument and name calling on both sides.   
Finally, it was mizuo who had to come up with a name   
“How about we call him “Keigo”? she asked her bickering parents. It’s a wonder that they had heard her since they were arguing a bit too loudly. The adults stopped their childish argument about how the names which they had thrown in was better than others or vice versa and were looking at their daughter with embarrassment clouding on their respective faces. Embarrassed that they were acting like kids while their kid was acting like an adult and had managed to come up with a name.  
With a sheepish smile Kasumi looked at her daughter and said   
“That’s a nice name Mizuo, how did you come up with that name “   
then playfully glaring at her husband she said  
“How come you didn’t come up with a good name like that??   
Who in turn glared back at her and replied?   
“There is nothing wrong with the names I had suggested, they are great names of people known for their valor and awesomeness. Far better than the ones you had suggested. Who will name their kid after some boring literature writers name”?  
If looks could kill Kenshi would have died painfully that was the amount of intensity behind Kasumi’s glare which shut him up from further making any scathing remarks about her choice of names. Kasumi just gave him a smug grin   
“Since you have informed both Honsho san and Ryuken san ,will it be better if we leave now since its really cold and I don’t want the kids getting sick” .The words we don’t want to expose the presence of the child and screw up our plan even before we execute it properly left unsaid but Kenshi understood that .  
Kenshi just nodded   
“Yeah you are right besides they will be meeting us in three hours since they have to inspect the accident scene, the cause of accident and other stuffs. So, it will give us time to prepare”  
“Prepare for what Dad?” Mizuo asked innocently. Both the parents were bit surprised that the girl was paying attention to their talk but Kenshi being a business man had learned how to go with the flow so he replied nonchalantly   
“Oh, you know, prepare a bed, change of clothes for this little guy not mention food since babies can’t eat the same food as us and stuffs like that”  
The girl nodded   
“Oh, sounds boring “which earned a chuckle from the adults.  
The family of four left for their home once kenshi had gotten confirmation from Honsho that he will be arriving with his team in half an hour. No one in the family except the child was able to see a bespectacled man following the car.


	3. A fathers lament

Destiny is a funny thing; those who seek it don’t often find it, those who find it don’t often know it.  
Chapter 3   
Souzuke Aizen trying hard not bang his head on the tree as he was getting tired of the constant bickering between the mortal man and woman whom he had chosen to raise his son without anyone knowing the truth of his existence, it took all his will power not to brain wash these humans in doing his bid. No one told him that having a family/relationship will come with these weird banter and bonding activities. He can’t imagine himself doing this with his son’s mother, the woman he had a short fling with before she left him abruptly abandoning their son without saying anything, it was as if she disappeared out of thin air. That was the first time he felt disappointed in himself slightly for his calculations and plans had never gone wrong before and his first somewhat relationship had been a big failure. And for the first time he felt something bitter in his chest something akin to the emotion sadness. He had thought that these feeling will go away if he did not pay attention them which was really hard since everyplace in his secret workshop reminded him of the time he had spent with her, at that time he was stuck in limbo a part of him wanted to be disgusted with himself for acting like that love sick fool isshin kurosaki and the other part of him , the part which confused him the most wanted him to be happy about the time he had spent with that woman .  
He was really confused at that point, wasn’t sure if he was in love with that woman but he knew for a fact that he cared about her to an extent and her abrupt departure affected him .The pain he felt wasn’t like anything he had felt before, this was completely an uncharted territory for him. And he had no clue what he was dealing with and he can’t show weakness in front of his subordinates so asking them is out of the equation not that it would help him much Gin is a sociopath just like him he could see himself in him and Tousen was just a tool which he had emotionally manipulated to the point his sense of judgement aligned with his motives and actions but still out of the two Tousen was a better option . None of his fellow captains possess the skills or experience which would benefit him in this situation except Unhonana and the old fool but the probability of them seeing through his lies and deceit was pretty much high and he world rather deal with this obstacle on his own than to get himself got caught. But what was more concerning for Aizen was that he was more worried about what will happen to his son than him at that moment.   
Since Aizen had never been emotional in his entire life, every action every move made were more of a logical reasoning which never cared about the feelings of others or the consequence of those actions. The only time he had ever shown real emotions was when he was with that woman or his son. Both never judged him for who he was and what he was doing .The woman understood his motives unlike his son but never judged him or accused him of being a miserable wretched being for his actions. Had this been any other situation he would have done it without a single thought but at this moment he couldn’t, not if it affects his son. He wanted him to have a peaceful, comfortable life, something which he can’t provide at this moment. There is a high chance that his brain washing might lose its effect in the future or someone from the soul society might get to know about his activities which in turn would get him in trouble and his son by extension, after all no one in the soul society knew about his true abilities or what he is capable of.   
If someone had told the past him that he would be having a child devoid of any power with an unknown quincy woman and that he would come to care and love the powerless child to the point of doing anything for him he would have found it mildly amusing. Now he doesn’t find it amusing at all, he finds the predicament he is in downright humiliating. He couldn’t use his powers on these weaklings to do his bidding all because of his son could get the affection and love naturally instead of it being forced.  
While watching the humans bantering amongst themselves, he saw his son holding the man’s finger, a bitter feeling started forming in his chest which then transformed into a sudden urge to throttle the man for gaining his sons affection. He calmed himself before he could lose control and do something he will come to regret later; he might not have been familiar with emotions and how they work but he had read about them to understand the feeling he was experiencing was jealousy. He realized the horrible fact that he was jealous of the human male gaining his sons affection. He tried to come up with various logical reasoning to justify his actions but couldn’t. So, he did the only thing he could do at the moment ignore the weird feeling in his chest and focus on what the humans were doing.   
Luckily for him the female was singing a soothing lullaby to calm the crying child in her arm and it worked though it took some time to calm the boy, Aizen felt half smug and half prideful of himself for the fact that he was able to calm his son when he cried which was surprisingly rare when he thought about it, the boy never cried in his presence and it was really rare he left him alone and even if he did leave him it would be Tousen who would be taking care of him, the blind captain had a surprising soft side to him when it comes to children ,Gin was never an option the first time he had tried to carry the boy, he made a huge racket .It wasn’t an ordinary crying but a full blown temper tantrum and it got worse whenever gin was in the vicinity his son had screamed/cried a lot until the foxy faced captain had left .   
This incident along with the previous ones confirmed something which had been lingering in his mind for a while, his son is highly perceptive, might as well be an empath and if his guess was correct which were for most of the time is able to sense the presence of danger. And what might happen in the future he might develop or gain some latent abilities after all his mother and he have a high spiritual energy not that it matters to him power or not he would be by his side the moment his plan succeeds, but this had proved something that Aizen had already knew Gin cannot be trusted and was never on his side ,did he think that he would be able to deceive the master of deception himself, Tousen was trustworthy and loyal to him. He was also right about selecting this family because once again he was proven correct by his son’s behavior and how quick these people have gained his trust. He knew without a doubt that these people will take care of his son with care and affection he deserved and would protect him from anything no matter what.   
Another feeling /emotion which he hadn’t felt in his Shinigami life Guilt bubbled up in his chest, guilty that someone else is going to be there for the boy instead of him, guilty that he had brought an innocent child into this world without giving a second thought about the consequence, guilty that he would be missing a lot of important stuffs in the boys life when he was growing up ,guilty that he would be growing up not knowing anything about his origin or who his parents, guilty that he selfishly experimented on his son without taking his wellbeing into consideration even if they were harmless ,had no ill intent behind his actions though he didn’t care at that time.   
But the biggest thing he was guilty of was, when he thought about killing his son off during the initial days after the woman left them and would have gone with the plan had it not been for his son’s smiling face when a zampakto was about to be plunged into him by his father ,the smiling face didn’t show any discomfort and the emotions in those eyes were full of trust and joy. It was enough to stop him from further continuing his insane and horrible plan. The reason why he had tried to do that was because he thought that baby was just an annoyance to his future plans and since he didn’t possess any powers or skills that would benefit him, he had assumed that it would be meaningless to waste his time and resource on someone who he had deemed unfit but it was the first time someone had trusted him openly ,the first time someone had shown him what it was like to be trusted and loved ,the first time someone gave something to him without being expected anything in return. He flung his zampakto away and held the boy in his arm .When the boy rested his head on his shoulder without caring that he was being held by the person who had tried to kill him ,it was at that moment he had realized what it was to love someone unconditionally and though the concept of loving someone /something without expectation was confusing for him since he had always gotten things through manipulation and his actions always had a reason or motive behind it .  
But he tried to care for his son though a part of him was skeptical that he would fail in this endeavor just like how he had driven away that woman but a more stubborn and optimistic side of him wanted to succeed, to prove that he too was capable of loving .To his immense relief and surprise loving and caring his son came naturally for him. Though he found out that he couldn’t care for anyone other than his son and probably that woman but the loving unconditionally part without expecting anything was reserved only for his son alone, it was as if his mind was programmed to do that voluntarily. And he was fine with it after all he had already decided that he was going to utilize the feelings he has for his son as a driving force and motivation to achieve his goal, a goal which had slightly changed due to his sudden discovery of feelings for his son, he just hopes that he doesn’t come to regret it or someone doesn’t use this against him.   
He was drawn away from his thoughts by the loud bickering which has started between the humans but this time though Aizen was paying attention to the conversation since it involved naming his son which in turn lead to another argument between the two adults. Aizen has been constantly dealing with eccentric beings throughout his life both hollows and Shinigami but none of them had pushed his patience to this extent. How can someone start an argument on naming a child is something he will never know, is this how others humans and Shinigami deal with such situation or is this behavior inclusive only for these two, he probably will never find out the answer for that question. Thankfully for his temper and patience the little girl had come up with a name for his son “Keigo”, a really fitting name. He started questioning himself for a second if the roles have been reversed in this family because the adults who were supposed to act like were behaving like kids whereas the kid who was supposed to act like one was acting like an adult. For a child she was way too mature, sensible and collected not that Aizen found anything wrong with that, in fact he admired it, the girl got into his good graces the moment she swore that she would protect his son and she said it with such a conviction that he found himself almost applauding. Though he felt little sad that he couldn’t name his son but its how the situation is and he couldn’t do anything about it. Ironically that’s one of few emotions he has been feeling since he had decided to drop his son in the human world. He was lying to himself by thinking that he wouldn’t be feeling these emotions at all after today.   
But he knew one thing for sure that his son would grow up in loving and caring environment. The adults in spite of their childish behavior seemed smart enough to come up with a plan quickly and were able to use the rumors which had been spread about the mother having a secret child for their own interest. Not to mention they genuinely care about the infant they had just found. His son would be having great figures to look up to when he grows up. And without a doubt these kiddish parents will do everything in their power to protect the infant not to mention they are really famous and well settled who could not only provide his son a comfortable living but also a safety and stability in the mortal world, that’s something the soul society wouldn’t want to mess with incase they had somehow found out about him. A random human getting kidnapped or disappearing was one thing but a really famous person disappearing all of a sudden was another thing. Aizen knew how things work in the mortal world and his son face would be known throughout the country since both the humans are well known so it would be difficult for the soul society to manipulate and erase everyone’s mind. Even a single person remembering or the proof of his existence was enough to cause trouble which something the Central 46 of the soul society doesn’t want to happen.  
It seems the adult male had called his friends who could help him out with his plan though they were not informed about the exact truth which surprised Aizen himself, he had expected them to be upfront about it perhaps he had underestimated them a bit but the male’s lying ability was really bad that he was sure that whoever he had contacted would have suspected something was amiss but still his effort was commendable considering the situation. Now things were getting amusing. When they left, he had followed them to their house to make sure that things go well and use his special shikai ability incase his interference was needed though he hoped it wouldn’t come to that.  
Turns out the friends which they had called he was able to recognize one of them a spectacled man with a serious look on his face whom his hollow spies had identified as a quincy, the other one a muscular figure who had a cheerful look on his face unlike the former. It took nearly three hours of emotional manipulation, logical arguments the family was able to convince the two to help them out with their plan. Though the quincy didn’t give up without a fight as he was the one who had come up with most of counter arguments and at one point it looked like he was going to convince the parents that it was a bad idea. But when the woman forced him to hold his son and he did bit reluctantly, he gave his son a once over before he stopped coming up with proper arguments. It was as if he had discovered something about his son and had wanted to look into it further. But that was not possible since he had erased all the traces of the experiments, he had done on his son initially and the boy possessed no spiritual power. So Aizen had assumed that it was his paranoia playing tricks and no one could recognize the boy’s origin or identity. He didn’t know how wrong he was at the moment.  
So once the plan was finalized and everything was sorted out. The two new comers left to do their parts in the plan leaving the family alone. Aizen had wanted to say a final good bye to his son before he left but was unable to find an alone since his son was either coddled by the female or the male was trying to play with him or when both were not there his son was preoccupied in an impromptu play stare contest with the little girl making it difficult for him to have an alone. After an hour or two he finally got an alone time with his son though timing would be really short since both adults were busy for a short time, the mother preparing his son sleeping place in their room while the father was busy speaking with someone in that device called telephone.  
Making sure that the coast was clear and no one was in the vicinity Aizen lifted held his son for one last time, looking into his brown eyes which were like his, he spoke  
“Be happy and safe little one. I hate to do this leaving you here but it is for the best, I’m going to do stuffs which might you in the direct path of danger if discovered so that’s why I’m leaving you here. Your foster family are a really good people “he paused for few seconds trying to calm his emotions which were leaking out through his voice before speaking again  
“I am not sure if you would remember me when we meet again but I will never forget you and you will be always be in my memory just like your real mother who I believe loved you as much as I did. So, I just want you know that whatever I’m going to do is for you and I have never loved or cared anyone in my life except you. I Sousuke Aizen promise you that we will be back together as a family in few years when my plan succeeds. So, farewell my dear son” Aizen refused to cry ,his mind urging not to show weakness but he couldn’t help it by the time he was done with his farewell tear were over flowing from his eyes ,he wiped it off slowly and regained his composure .With great difficulty he kissed his son on the fore head and placed him back in the cradle and then left the room without looking back.  
The boy had started crying immediately, maybe he had realized what his father was doing or maybe it was his basic instinct telling him that something was wrong but couldn’t identify it. Anyway this had drawn the whole family into the room, each of them trying to comfort the boy in their own way but it was a futile effort. Aizen had wanted to go back inside to comfort take up the boy in his hand and comfort him ,he badly wanted throw away everything he had planned for years just to be with his son but he couldn’t ,his mind wouldn’t let him do that even if that’s what his heart wanted him to do .So with a great pain he had left the mortal world without a thought. But he swore to himself that no matter what he would be back for him even if he has to kill/ manipulate anything and anyone to achieve his goal.  
Fate is a funny thing especially when someone tries their level best to prevent something from happening sacrificing everything they had loved or had with them, if something is bound to happen it happens and nothing can stop it. Trying to change it will only make things go in the opposite direction and end up in a scenario way worse than a situation which they had wanted to avoid at any cost. Like how Aizen assumed that if his son was close to him, he might be used against him and bringing him to the human world to hide from fellow Shinigami and traitors thinking that he was helping him but in truth he was deeming him to a fate worse than death. Listening to the logical part of him which thought having the boy near him was a weakness, something he would come to regret later .Not only it made it easy for his enemies or more appropriate to say enemy to target his son but also will put a huge wrench in the plans he had been preparing for years .This one action had set motion to certain events, events which are going to change everything in the future, events which no one would have expected.   
In an almost empty shop in Karakura, a black cat was seen entering the shop. A man wearing a straw hat and coolers greeted it with a jovial wave  
“Its been a while yoruichi, I’m assuming you are not here for exchanging pleasantries or to indulge an old man like me in a small talk “  
The cat Yoruichi replied with an almost human like grin  
“Yeah you are right Kisuke I’m not here for pleasantries, I’ll get straight to the point did you sense the hollows were really active for past few weeks, it’s as if they were doing something else other than attacking people or causing trouble.”  
Kisuke shrugged but he had an undecipherable expression on his face  
“I felt it too but the funny thing was it was on specific locations which I have marked in this map. Its as if they were focusing on something or someone and were careful enough not to draw too much attention but still my equipment was able to detect the residual particles from their body. They can hide their energy but not their body. Beats me why they would do that and their recent activity started from a resort near Karakura till a particular place on the way to the town. Its mostly an abandoned place and then it stopped totally. I hate to ask you this, but can you check it out and find out about this weird behavior”  
The cat just chuckled in a deep voice   
“You don’t have to ask; I was planning to check it out any way. Now that I have the proper location It will make it even easier for me. I’ll start from the last active place.”  
The man had a solemn look on his face  
“Thank you, I owe you this one and for a lot of other stuffs”  
The cat struck his leg playfully with its paws  
“You don’t owe me anything, we are family and family doesn’t owe anything. And beside I don’t regret anything, it was the right thing to do. If you could sacrifice everything for others safety so could I and I couldn’t let you and others die for a crime which you guys didn’t commit and my status as a captain nor the influence and power I held back there wasn’t worth the loss of innocent lives.”   
Kisuke smiled   
“But still the risk was too much and any sane person wouldn’t have done what you did but you are not the sanest person in this universe aren’t you? “  
The cat gave a cheeky smile but then its expression changed to that of complete seriousness   
“Is this go to do anything with him?”  
Kisuske shrugged his face devoid of any emotion  
“Not sure, he is still in possession of my cloak which enables him to conceal his energy completely. But it’s a possibility. So, in case if you do find him which you mostly wont but if you do , please don’t engage. We don’t know what he is capable of now”  
The cat was about to argue against the last suggestion but saw the expression on its friends face and agreed to it a bit hesitantly. Though it didn’t just accept it without a retort   
“Who do you think I am? They still call me flash step master for a reason. But still ill follow your suggestion since I couldn’t bear to see that pitiful expression on your face” the cat scoffed in indignation which only earned a chuckle from Kisuke.   
“Anyway stay safe my friend “  
“You too old man”  
“if am an old man then what does it make you? Hmmm a hag, right?”   
Then the cat left with a goal on its mind but not before giving a death glare, it might have promised not to engage directly with that bespectacled back stabbing cunt but it doesn’t mean it won’t thwart whatever plan he was up to indirectly of course.   
In a realm where only selected mortals and supernatural beings have entered Fate was eagerly waiting for the drama to unfold with a huge bowl of Popcorn and drinks right beside her cackling gleefully whereas death and life were face palming themselves at their sister’s behavior. The other gods and goddesses ignored it as they didn’t want themselves to be involved in the affairs of those sisters. Lucifer the ruler of hell like Fate was amused at the turn of events imagining how many morons he will be receiving into his realm in the future, morons whom he can have for tortur- I mean punishing but he wouldn’t be in the future though when he realizes that certain idiots will be escaping his realm to cause ruckus in the human world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So from the next chapter, the actual story starts. I have written the current chapter in a way I think that characters might behave if such situations or scenarios had happened in the cannon. If Aizen was out of character I apologize for it


	4. Dreams,Memories and meeting with Mario Part 1

“Your emotions make you human. Even the unpleasant ones have a purpose. Don't lock them away. If you ignore them, they just get louder and angrier.”  
― Sabaa Tahir, A Torch Against the Night  
Chapter 4  
Dreams , Memories and meeting with Mario Part 1.  
“So, I just want you know that whatever I’m going to do is for you and I have never loved or cared anyone in my life except you. I Sousuke Aizen promise you that we will be back together as a family in few years when my plan succeeds.”  
Keigo wanted to speak but couldn’t not even the man had noticed his presence, even the surroundings seem to be blurry. He was only able to notice the appearance of the man, the man was wearing a white coat and since he was facing the opposite direction couldn’t clearly see his face but he was able to spot that he was a wearing spectacle and his hair was brown in colour.  
Without thinking he moved forward something in his gut told him that this dream was really important to him and he should find out about it at any cost but he couldn’t, it’s as if something swas preventing him from finding it out. He willed himself to move forward ignoring the pain he felt at that moment. Finally, he was able to reach closer to the man and to his immense shock, the man turned around and just passed through him like he was never there in solid form which unnerved him a bit.  
Now he was having second thoughts about finding who that guy was talking to. Unfortunately, before he could force himself to wakeup which was really rare when he was having realistic dreams or night mares based on his real-life incident, the fog started clearing up making it easy for him to look around the place or room he was standing in and to his immense surprise he found himself in his parent’s bedroom in one of their houses at Karakura Town ,everything looked exactly like the same before the fire accident .  
“Anything but this, anything but this. Please don’t do this, not this place, not this room, please somebody wake me up”  
Keigo screamed/begged /pleaded in his dream but to no avail and he even started pinching himself but it was all in vain.  
No matter what happened he wouldn’t be able to wake up unless someone physically woke him up that someone being his sister or shion the black female cat in their house who had an habit of waking him up whenever he had a really bad nightmare or chizuru when she stayed over or Ryuken san whenever he was working in his hospital as an intern sometimes assisting him out with his patients and in other times working in the reception during the weekends when he was requested by him to work overtime or any member of the Honsho family when he stayed over at their place when his sister had to accompany their grandmother for business related meetings or when he was helping out Chizuru with her studies or when he and chizuru were helping Honsho san with stuffs related to his work ,stuffs which he can’t do legally as a Cop ,stuffs which he can do as an hacker like digging information about corrupt business person, politicians and other shady members of the society whom Uncle Honsho can’t do anything without evidence ,evidence which cannot be obtained legally.  
Otherwise he had to go through the whole incident again and again, he couldn’t interact nor he couldn’t stop anything from happening either he could only re-enact the incident or could watch it like a movie. If it’s the former at least his scream will draw attention to him but if it’s the latter then he had no other option but to watch the entire event unfold before him slowly which was the worst.  
He expected the calm peaceful atmosphere to change into that of the hellish scene of the accident. But it didn’t, instead he heard a baby crying loudly behind him. He turned around and there was indeed a baby in crib. He was baffled there wasn’t any baby in that room during that incident and he was more surprised to see the younger version of his parents and his sister running into the room, trying to calm the baby. They looked exactly like how they were slightly older before that happened ,he couldn’t take his eyes off them .He for sure knew that this was the only dream where they don’t look scarred or with injuries ,his mother looked beautiful and regale even in her sleeping robes she had the same look on her face when she looked at him in the ambulance before her death the look filled with concern and worry for him not for her or his sister ,but for him whereas his dad on other hand had the same goofy smile on his face ,the same smile he had given him during his final moments at the hospital bed assuring him that none of it was his fault no matter what .  
But it is his fault though right ?after all he is the bringer of ill fortune, the parasite who sucked everything including their life and gave them only pain and suffering till their death ,the cursed monster who robbed his sister of her parents if only the electric wire had fallen on him instead of her or if only his sister had come a bit a late into his room when he had slit his wrist ,his parents ,his relatives though most of them were Aholes to his mom and his 4th grade sensei who would always encourage him to be usual self (after he completely shut himself off after the first incident that there was nothing with him and that his best friend was at the wrong place at the wrong time and that electric wire falling on her was just a coincidence ) would have survived .  
He couldn’t hear anything they spoke because whatever they spoke was suppressed by even louder sound a cat meowing to be precise, the only word he could barely hear was “Keigo” his name not that he cared much about what they spoke because at that very moment he only cared about was to hug and tell them how sorry he was about everything and ,that they were the best parents he could ever have and he misses them a lot .  
A crazy thought popped in his mind ,what if it is possible for him to stay in this place even if he was just a spectre here ,he could see his parents regularly ,where he wouldn’t be causing anyone trouble, where he could be himself instead of the fake persona he puts in front of others, may be there is a way he just had to figure it out. But he immediately pushed those thoughts away from his mind, Mizuo needed him the most and he couldn’t do that to her, not after she practically raised him from the age of 10 managing her studies and learning how to handle family business at the same time from their Grandmother. He couldn’t leave her alone in this world, sure they have their Grandmother who would be there for her but his sister wouldn’t say it out loud but she would be a total mess without him, the same for him.  
The meowing got louder and closer this time, he looked around for the presence of any cat but couldn’t find one. He was wishing that this moment would last forever, of course but knowing his luck he knew better than anyone how futile is that in his case. After all he did learn it in a really harsh way. Still he rushed forward with a single goal on his mind to hug them one last time knowing very well what the outcome was /is.  
And like he had expected the forms of his parents and the baby started fading quickly only for the scene to be replaced with a scene of a woman standing in a garden and suddenly she was surrounded by a white light, the woman started screaming in pain though nothing was harming her at least visibly but he understood that the light was responsible for that . Then complete silence the woman fell down unconscious but he had a really bad feeling that she wasn’t just unconscious but in fact she was not alive. There was something familiar about the woman, he took a step closer and what he saw made him gasp ,this was Ryuken San’s wife whose picture he had always seen on his table table in the hospital, he told him that she had passed away due to unfortunate circumstances, Keigo didn’t want ask any further since the sadness emitting from him at that time was too much bear and it was impolite as well. That might be the first and last time Ryuken San had let himself become that emotional but underneath that sadness he could sense a slight pang of guilt muddled with anger.  
“Why am I dreaming about her though? I am seeing her photo regularly but that doesn’t make any sense at why I am getting this dream now? Have I completely lost my mind? What about the previous one? That seemed too real to be a dream?” questions like that kept popping in his mind. Questions for which he didn’t have any answer at the moment, he is not even sure if he can get answers for it without hurting or offending Ryuken San or his sister. Based on his previous experiences, he should know that this is just his mind messing with him but he couldn’t ignore the fact that the extra sense which usually warns him when something is not true wasn’t doing that and that never failed him before. The only plausible and logical reason he has at that moment is that these might be his subconscious thoughts projecting themselves in the dream or it might be due to the violent movies and games he has been watching in secret from Mizuo.  
Well if it’s the former then he has some really serious issues with capital I and is need of a visit to a psychiatrist because seriously dreaming about how someone died is no serious issue but if its latter god save him if his sister somehow finds out that he had been staying up night and watching all these instead of sleeping on time like he was asked to, his sister had set a bunch of rules for him like sleeping time, the routes he had to take while coming back home from school or his part time jobs and sometimes arrives at work space without announcing ,in the pretence of having a small snack with her friends from University or sometimes accompanied by their Grandmother who thought that the café he was working was calm and pleasant which would have been believable ,had they not been appearing in all the restaurants and Cafes, his sister being an over protective mama bear he can understand since she had been there with him when something goes wrong , but his grandmother joining that bandwagon is a different story.  
All of this was because some gun and knife wielding idiots thought it would be a good plan to kidnap Chizuru and him on their way to her house from his work place when they decided to take a dark isolated alley just for fun. They would have succeeded if the morons had planned properly but noo they fumbled with their threats, stumbled with their movement and one even shot his fellow kidnappers freaking them out and causing a ruckus which eventually led to them arguing amongst themselves. Just his luck what started as a kidnapping turned into a real life soap opera and they were forced to listen their arguments about how the guy who had shot his friend had taken alcohol more than his part and he had to repay it only for that guy to come up with a argument of his own about how he was taking what others owed him, then the argument turned into a childish name calling which eventually ended in full on brawl among those idiots which had drawn attention to their activities not to mention Chizuru the silent smiling smart beauty she is had called her father during the argument without anyone noticing her not to mention the gunshot and the ruckus had drawn the attention of a police patrol along with the passer-by. Realizing the danger, they were in the idiots tried to flee the scene but were caught exactly a street away from the place of their attempted kidnapping apparently both the car tires got busted and there was a leak in the fuel tank as well.  
They were all arrested and but couldn’t do anything to the ones who had asked them to do their bidding because of lack of proper evidence and other technicalities, what a big load of crap. Its pretty obvious that they were indirectly targeting Honsho san for looking into their illegal activities and his sister for making a move against them. He could feel the smugness radiating from them in the court room and the fake concerned look which they gave him and his sister, the tone in which they spoke about how they wouldn’t go against their family friends was too much that he came so close to punch them in their smug faces, only to be stopped by his sister and Grandma who told him that they would have their due on time. Besides the failed attempt would put them on their guard for sometime before they tried anything serious. For once his luck or curse whatever it is happening to him turned out to be helpful, for once it didn’t harm anyone he loved.  
While Keigo was lost in his thoughts, a figure clad in full white had appeared silently a few feet behind him and was observing him for past few seconds. And keigo wouldn’t have even noticed the presence of something or someone behind him and would have woken up from his sleep had it not been for his extra sense alerting him that someone was there behind him. Keigo turned around slowly and saw a man with a huge moustache standing behind him with an unreadable expression on his face. Keigo recognised that this man was also wearing a full white dress with only major differences is that he was having a black scarf on his neck and a missing sword or katana but unlike the aizen guy in his this guy was wearing a double-breasted trench coat, which has some sort of symbol on the middle, with large buttoned cuffs and lapels, white trousers, and trench boots. Now looking closer at the mans face he looked like a cheap rip off of Mario except this one dressed like a fighter than a plumber.  
“Looks like you have finally noticed my presence. Though I am curious how you were able to invade my memory scape, not even the strongest quincies or the shinigami are capable of this feat, not that they knew about my resurrection” Mario look alike spoke Arrogantly.  
Keigo blinked thrice and he looked around to see if there is anyone else but to his surprise there wasn’t and the Mario rip-off was actually talking to him, well this is the first time something or someone in his dream has directly spoken to him. He looked at Mario who for some reason was annoyed and put off by his lack of response.  
“Are you talking to me Mario?” he asked walking closer to the man “Can you even see me?” he asked waving his hand in front of the man’s face.  
The man looked offended either because of his action or question or may be both. His response was an in human growl and glare. Keigo ignoring the growl and glare started speaking casually without any fear  
“If you think that a growl and glare from a cheap Mario rip off, you are mistaken and besides you are not the scariest thing I have seen in my dream, besides what can you even do to me. You are just a fragment of my dream”  
As Keigo was speaking the man was getting pissed at each word spoken before realization dawned upon him. He started laughing loudly for few seconds  
“You don’t even know what you are doing do you child?” he paused before continuing his speech in a tone which adults use when they are talking to small children.  
Keigo cut him off rudely  
“Yeah, well I’m dreaming and you Mr. Mario is a part of it and I’m not child” he shot back petulantly.  
The man remained calm and collected, he gave him a pitying look and continued his speech in the same tone  
“As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted by you, this is my mind, my memory not your dream, like I said before no one has ever managed to successfully invade it, you somehow managed to do it. I was initially angry that someone dared to do it. I had assumed that Yamomotto and his Shinigami had somehow discovered my resurrection and had developed some means to invade my mind. But to my immense surprise it was just you, a mere child who had done it unknowingly and based on your little rude interruption I am assuming this is the first time you have done it right? So, what are you a Shinigami or a Quincy or a harbringer?”  
Keigo wanted to be offended of being a child and the tone the man was using but at that moment he didn’t care because this is one of the hilarious and interesting dreams he has ever had .Besides may be it could give answers to the abnormalities happening around him and even it doesn’t at the very least he could be himself for sometime without the consequence of others getting hurt the others being anyone outside his family and close circle.  
“Quincies?? Is that a name of a cult or some sort of made up word you just came up with?? Shinigami?? The only Shinigami I know are the one I have seen in the movies and games, wearing full black Skelton mask and a scythe as a weapon for reaping souls, are you saying they are for real and you think that I’m one of those? Talk about active imagination Mario” he chuckled before continuing “harbringer might be a possibility after all I have brought destruction to people’s life around me” the last part was said in a bitter tone.  
The man looked at him sourly for few seconds before schooling his features  
“I look over this one last time about you calling me Mario, whatever does that even mean .My name is Yhwach , often referred to simply as "Your Majesty" by my followers , I am the Father of the Quincy and for your information Quincy is neither a cult nor it is a religion but a supernatural beings just like the Shinigami ,the ones you mentioned are hollows though they don’t carry weapons like the one you said. And as for harbingers they are mortals who have survived the encounter with the hollows and gained some extraordinary powers, powers which can rival a Shinigami and quincy if they have enough training and spiritual powers. From your answer I can understand that you do not understand the supernatural aspects properly. No matter you should be thankful to me for educating you and I can tell you what you are if you allow me that is”  
Keigo could only stare at that man for a second taking in everything which was explained to him, then he started laughing loudly even pointing his hands at him. Apparently, it was a wrong thing to do, the man who is likely the embodiment of his subconsciousness that’s what Keigo thought, was getting annoyed and angry.Keigo could sense the anger radiating off him and nothing could be compared to the look which he was receiving at that moment. He tried to control his laughter and he did for a second but made a mistake of looking at his face again which resulted in another laughter fit.  
“What is so funny that it resulted in you behaving like a lunatic? Care to explain because I don’t think there isn’t anything on my face neither the valuable information, I had given you freely, information which no one had provided to you. You should be grateful that you have intrigued me or else it wouldn’t take much time for me to remove your existence from the world of living .” the last sentence was said with such a calmness even though the intensity of his anger and rage was high gained keigos attention which somehow managed to stop his laughter.  
“Thank for making me laugh Mario, Its been a long time since I laughed like this even though its just a dream I feel like I lost a burden for which I’m really grateful even though you are just a figment of my subconscious thoughts and imagination. As for the reason my laughter there are a lot ,like you referred yourself as Your majesty ,Narcisstic much ??,I mean you even a created a cult and called yourself the father of it, dude that’s insane not mention the information you provided are nothing but a fantasy thought/ideas which I might have got from some novels I have read .You even created a weird unintelligible name for you or maybe I did subconsciously .Now I fear my sense of naming because of that name of yours. Not to mention you even asked me to call you “Your Majesty ” , how rude you only exist because of me so I’m your creator so if anything you should call me “Your Majesty” but since im feeling magnanimous you can call me Master Keigo or Master Asano” he replied sarcastically ignoring the how mans face had turned red either because of embarrassment or anger.  
“You saw what I did to that women in my memory prior to my arrival though her death was still her fault for being impure yet she was an unwilling participant ,you on other hand are willingly choosing it in spite of my warning .Im a King who will become a god one day instead of grovelling before me like you should have instead you openly mocked my name, my legacy, my children and even my appearance. But I do commend your candour, only few have looked me in the eye and spoken to me, even those didn’t have the gal to mock me directly, not to mention you even asked me to ,how did you say ?ah that’s right since you are feeling magnanimous you asked me to call you Master Asano instead of your majesty, that’s the most amusing thing I had ever heard in my life” Mario gave a dark chuckle filled with malice and tone he used was anything but amusement ,which sent shivers down his spine. For the first time since he started the conversation with Mario look alike he was having doubts about whether it was right on his part to mock him so brazenly,but then he had never felt this comfortable with being himself and showing emotions not to mention no one will get killed or maimed because of him and in case if that man is indeed real then he got nothing to worry about his safety ,not after how he proclaimed without any remorse about how he killed Ishida sans wife just because he felt she was impure whatever does that even means which he is sceptical about it because he didn’t see that man there when she collapsed but if there is a chance that this guy is for real then he wouldn’t mind if he gets some sort of punishment from his luck or curse for his lack of empathy and arrogant nature since the people he had shown emotions had been affected at the very least that’s what he had assumed . After some quick thinking he decided to play along to get more information and decide it properly.  
The man continued if he had noticed the look of unease on Keigo’s face he didn’t seem to care about it  
“Was it bravery or stupidity or ignorance or all the three combined together? ,Im not completely sure. But from the look on your face I can pinpoint that its mostly ignorance .I wonder how you would react where I to appear Infront of you in my full glory. Before that let me find out what sort of being are you ,if you are quincy and if I deem you worthy ill give you a chance but if you are a Shinigami or a harbringer then I would like to find out if you will show the same attitude when we meet in the battle field in future when my plan comes into fruition ” he stopped when he looked at Keigo who had a inquisitive look on his face as if he wanted to ask some questions on his own.  
“Of course I will let you ask some questions since this whole conversation is a new experience for me ,im feeling magnanimous” the man spoke in a mocking tone.  
“Anything?”Keigo couldn’t stop himself from asking.  
Mario nodded  
“I will answer any question, I swear it on my honour as a quincy” .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I hope I haven’t made Yhwach too out of character. As for Keigo, his usual canon character is just a façade he has been putting up in front of people other than his family, close friends (which he doesn’t have much for now, the usual gang he hangs out with in the cannon doesn’t count in this fic) and family friends, there is the reason for it since I have given a tidbit about it in this chapter. I have taken some liberties in adding some extra skills for Keigo like hacking, hand to hand combat, and kendo considering who his sister is. This fic is going to be a bit slow, slightly dark in a few chapters and the cannon is going to be tweaked a bit. There will be some major changes from the cannon. Constructive criticisms are welcome.


	5. Interlude: The mysteries in his life

Interlude: The mysteries in his life

Keigo's mind was having an internal conflict,he still wanted to believe that this is all just a dream and the man standing in front of him was just a fragment of his imagination and his pent up thoughts and emotions are being expressed in such way but his senses on the hand confirmed him that the man was telling the truth or he firmly believed in what he is talking about. To be frank he would be lying if he said that he wasn't intrigued about this talk about these supernatural beings, not to mention in the previous dream the Aizen guy's dress or uniform was similar to that of the Shinigami the Mario guy explained.

It's not like he doesn't believe in the supernatural aspects of life,no in fact he is one of the most ardent believer,as a child the unknown always had interested him. Unlike his peers he had spent most of his childhood in reading books of different topics varying from different supernatural aspects of life to aliens, Ufo sightings and even started reading conspiracy theories about vampires and real-life incidents about people interacting with them which dates for many years and the most recent one being three months ago.

But the funny thing is these vampires unlike the ones in the folk lore, these vampires didn't suck the blood of their victims but their life or more appropriate to say soul, the victims were devoid of life but there was no loss of blood or any external injuries except two pin pricks on the neck of the victims. The vampire according to some witnesses was a tall muscular man with a scar on his chin but the most distinct feature about him was his white hair and red eyes this incident occurred very recently like a month ago in the coastal region of Spain.

There was another case in a different place and this dated approximately 100-150 years ago, but this time the victim was the supposed vampire, the people in the town realized that she wasn't aging at all so they tried to kill her off even though she didn't harm anyone unlike in the previous case. Then according to the old city archives the female vampire was saved by a male vampire who resembled the one who was sighted in Spain, maybe they are the same person or maybe not.

But unlike others he didn't dismiss these incidents as fake or people imagining things because of fear because he knew there are things in the world which are unknown and undecipherable like the fact that only few percent of the ocean has been discovered officially or evidences about life in other planets outside earth or the mysterious disappearance of the flights and boats at the Bermuda triangle and last but not the least there are some unnatural events occurring in USA which are cantered around a man who goes by the name Lucifer Morningstar, a man helping out the people in his own way by offering deals to them, rumour has it that he is the devil himself roaming the earth since he was feeling lonely and bored being the ruler of the hell and apparently he owns a casino too.

And the icing on the cake is/was the abnormal events which has been happening in and around Karakura town for past few months ,he might act dumb but that doesn't mean he didn't observe the things happening around him like ichigo vanishing from the class time to time or how Rukia trained ichigo in kendo and her background which might have fooled others but not him ,he knew that she was lying about her and there is something she is hiding not to mention these abnormal events started occurring from the time of her arrival not to mention when something happens ichigo and the usual gang would be there or at least partially involved in it one way or another. He could sense some drastic changes in them which wasn't there before Rukia came or more appropriate to say that Rukia's arrival might have been a catalyst for their change.

Hell, even yesterday there was an unexplained incident where all the windows in the school were broken by the judo students all of a sudden then chizuru and arisawa started attacking orohime one after another and before that arisawa was in agony as if something was torturing her slowly. He knew something was off when his senses started going haywire. It was by accident that he was walking in the ground and he came across this ,his first action was to run and hide just like he was always asked to do when he faced dangerous situations like these but he couldn't do it not when chizuru was acting like that, so unlike her kind self and she was even pained by her actions ,it was like they were possessed or looked like they were being controlled by something because they were able to retain their senses and weren't keen on hurting their friend ,in chizuru's case the girl she liked. As much as it hurts him no matter what that's the truth and he have to live with that knowing that his love for her wouldn't be reciprocated, but that didn't stop him from hugging and confessing it to her profusely breaking the hold of whatever creature had on her.

In fact, when he stupidly stepped in her path preventing her from hurting orohime she didn't even make any aggressive move against him but still he could see in her eyes that there was something unnatural about her at that moment. He quickly came up with a simple plan of appealing to her emotionally but unfortunately during his monologue his real feelings for her slipped through and he ended up confessing her which surprisingly broke her from the trance but the same cannot be said to arisawa he knew that she hated him with a passion but didn't know that hate was deeper than he had expected the moment after his confession to chizuru she started attacking with an intent of harming for real unlike when she attacked Orohime and he was able to sense hatred and jealousy radiating from her though it felt as if someone had multiplied her already existing felings 100 fold though her feelings were mostly directed at chizuru than him . Its not surprising considering that she hated chizuru for her occasional harassment of Orohime but jealousy that's something new ,why would arisawa be jealous of chizuru .That's absurd as far as he knows arisawa isn't attracted to him or chizuru .So he was baffled by that and this distraction was enough for arisawa to punch him in his solar plexus followed by a roundhouse kick ,years of close combat training and reflexes he had honed under his sister kicked in enabling him to evade the kick with ease surprising her and orohime who herself was suffering torment from the invisible creature which gave him enough time to push chizuru behind him which turned out to be really bad move since this enraged arisawa even further but luckily Orohime jumped in and was able to reign in Tatsukis anger .

The same could not be said for the judo club members who were targeting him at the same time which was good for orohime since it looked like Tatsuki had regained her sense and was trying to resist whatever was controlling her ,with the others attention solely focused on him it gave an opportunity for Tatsuki to regain the control of her body with the help of orohime. The one controlling the judo club members wouldn't have expected him to fare well against the group, too bad compared to his sisters training these were nothing, not only did he manage to knock out some of them but he was protecting chizuru at the same time. Apparently whoever caused that incident turned out to be a sore looser because the controlled people started attacking him with renewed vigour and rage which didn't affect him much until the being directed its killing intent on chizuru which he had sensed immediately.

Keigo drew a line when it comes to getting emotional (which he usually doesn't thanks to the fucking curse no matter what anyone says),harm to him he would let it pass but anyone or anything which dared to harm his loved ones would face his wrath, he was sick and tired of people around him getting hurt .He would be damned if he let chizuru get hurt because some supernatural being felt petty because of his/her/it's over confidence had resulted in its humiliation .He didn't hold back when the mind controlled students attacked knocking the first person within seconds and then another and then another using all the close combat skills at his disposal, in a span of 2 minutes he had reduced the number of students by half. And he was pretty vindictive when he knocked out the students making it clear to that creature that targeting chizuru would not end very well for it. He could see Orohime and Tatsuki looking at him in bewilderment, probably due to him not being his usual self but to be safe he assured them with a slight smile and nod indicating that he was still on their side.

The creature had not retaliated yet so he took that chance to take down the remaining controlled students. He pushed Chizuru further behind him and then dashed forward to knock down the remaining students. Tatsuki realizing what was happening joined him in his endeavour and they rapidly took down the remaining mind-controlled students. Then that thing showed it self the one which was controlling everyone. It resembled a jellyfish, with six appendages at the bottom and three circles of protrusions at the top, and has heart-shaped openings around its eyes as well as long teeth with no lips or gums, one of most hilarious creatures he had ever seen. It looked like some weird creature from one of those B grade horror movies and it didn't look happy more appropriate to say it was behaving like petulant whiny cowardly bully screaming profanities at them and the things which it will do to them in retaliation for spoiling its fun in its squeaky voice.

Orohime ,Tatsuki and Chizuru were looking at the sudden appearance of the creature with different expression on their face .Chizuru looked embarrassed and furious at the same time ,glaring at the creature and blushing when she looked at him probably due to his confession , Tatsuki on other hand was glaring at the creature and not so subtly at Chizuru which was quite surprising considering it was he who should have received that glare and even more surprising was that she was looking at him with a look of admiration which was new since he had received only looks of scorn and disgust from her ,Orohime on the other hand had an apprehensive look on her face as if she already knew what was happening and was expecting something like that to appear which proved his theory about some of the members of the gang knew something which others don't. The creature was looking at the girls with fury while continuing its tirade. Keigo on the other hand couldn't hold it anymore, the expression on its face coupled with threats it was spewing in its voice was so out of place that it was too funny that he started laughing loudly pointing his finger at that creature ignoring the situation they were all in.

That was probably was a smart move since the creature's attention was completely focused on him. Keigo was so busy laughing that he almost missed the look of recognition on the creature's face and then in an instant the fury emitting from it was replaced with fear and trepidation, as if it broke a rule which it shouldn't have and was afraid to face the consequence. This sudden change in the creature confused him more than anything, what was that monster so scared about and why did it change its attitude after looking at him? .Seems others had the same questions on their mind and the way there were looking at him shockingly as if he had grown an extra head all of a sudden especially Oorhime she was looking at him with an expression which was partly confusion and partly suspicion as if he was somewhat related to whatever the creature was fearful of, he could only shrug at Orohime in return because frankly speaking he himself couldn't understand the logic behind its action .And after that the tentacled creature completely avoided him and started attacking Tatsuki and orohime again by shooting some bullet like projectiles from its appendages .It did try to attack Chizuru but he stepped in front of her protectively daring it to attack since it was reluctant to make a move against him before .The creature looked from her to him narrowing its eyes ,it looked like it was about to attack him but it then changed its mind renewing its attack on Tatsuki. No matter how much he provoked it from throwing stones to calling insulting names, the creature avoided him like a plague only muttering that it did not want to anger that guy, who or which guy? He would never get the answers for those questions from that creature at least because within few seconds after the monster renewed its torture on Tatsuki, Orohime killed it with some sort of super powers her hair clip transformed into three fairy like beings and one of them injured it so badly that the creature started falling down .He was not sure what happened next because the creature changed its direction of the fall towards him at the final moment and crashed into him ,knocking him down .

The moment the creature touched him he felt something transferring into his body, it was like his body absorbing some sort of energy, he felt livelier than before, revitalized or reenergised would be the better term for the feeling he had felt at that time. He was back on his feet immediately and looked around for the body of the creature, but couldn't find it anywhere, it was as if it had vanished all of a sudden which freaked him out. Before he could question anyone about the disappearance of the creatures body ,his head started aching all of a sudden ,it felt like he was hit with an iron pipe multiple times on the head .He fell down clutching his head screaming in pain ,he felt two different pair of hands on his shoulder offering him comfort wasn't sure to whom those belonged to questioning him in a concerned tone about what was happening to him. The pain was so much that he couldn't even recognize who those voices belong to or what were they talking .He vaguely felt someone pressing his head to their bosom running their finger through his hair and some one else was holding his hands tightly ,both were trying to comfort him in their own way and he was sure both were crying based on the sniffing sound he heard from both the directions.

Then he had blacked out only to gain consciousness in the infirmary after three hours with his sister sitting on one side of his bed , chizuru and tatsuki on other side who were glaring at each other .He could sense an underlying tension among them especially between Tatsuki and Chizuru ,the emotions he felt in that room especially the jealousy from those two coupled with worry was too much that it nearly suffocated him surprisingly his sister was really calm and collected about the whole situation .What worried him most was he wasn't sure what she knew about the incident, heck he wasn't exactly sure about what others knew about that incident and most importantly when it comes to his wellbeing , his sister would be out of control ,her emotions and her over protective streak would go haywire but here she was so unlike her usual self .

Then things got even more weird when his sister politely but firmly shooed both the girls out of the room stating that she wanted to have a conversation with him alone. Both were reluctant to leave him but the stern look from Mizuo was enough to convince them that they are better off following her suggestion. Before leaving chizuru gave him a shy tentative hug which he returned slightly awkwardly his confession to her still on the mind ,chizuru on other hand ignored his awkwardness and pulled herself away from him then she looked at Tatsuki with a smug but satisfied smile on her face which did nothing better to improve the atmosphere in the room Tatsuki was now shooting a venomous glare at Chizuru only to be met with a smirk which practically dared her to do something , Tatsuki took a deep breath trying to calm herself she looked at him for a moment then she moved forward ,standing in front of him she placed her hands on his cheeks tenderly he could see a blush forming on her cheeks and he was sure his own face which was already red due to the hug had become even more redder ,what she did next surprised everyone in the room including herself ,she gave him a kiss on his cheek her lips lingering there for some time ,it felt like eons but in reality it was only for few seconds and just like that she backed away her face looking a beet root not before giving him a slight smile .

But one thing was certain at that time he was not the only spluttering mess in that room, the other being Chizuru who was trying to say something but couldn't form coherent sentence ,one can see an imaginary steam coming out of her ear .He didn't need any sense to know that she was feeling extremely jealous and was too stunned to react at the moment though he wasn't sure why she or Tatsuki should be jealous of each other in the first place ,its not like either of them were vying for his attention/affection and were acting like this since they had consider each other as rivals for the said affection which would be absurd and ridiculous since he was pretty sure that Chizuru was attracted to women and Tatsuki doesn't like him at all since there was nothing likeable about the persona he had been playing in front of her and others.

If Tatsuki giving him a kiss on the cheek made him a stuttering mess, what happened next resulted in an existential crisis for him .Chizuru not to be outdone moved in front of him with a determined expression on her face ,then without a warning she pulled him forward into a kiss he was so surprised that he tried to move away involuntarily but Chizuru had snaked her arm around his neck and pushed his head forward deepening the kiss further , it was not just an ordinary kiss but a wet urgent kiss expressing her feelings and desire in it ,Keigo could feel love ,jealousy ,vulnerability and fear radiating from her when she was kissing him. He was sure that if he pull away then it would definitely hurt her besides its not like he didn't like it ,heck he had been imagining this from the moment he had realized his feelings for her so he did the only logical thing anyone would do at that moment ,he kissed her back pulling her closer making it clear through his kiss that he liked her too .The kiss lasted for a minute before both of them pulled back reluctantly. Tatsuki was completely shellshocked while Chizuru had a relieved look on her face. The moment the kiss ended he realized what just happened during last few minutes and he looked at the girls responsible for it and he spoke the only thing he had on his mind at that time a single word "why" even though he can clearly feel and see that they have strong feelings for him, looking at their confused expression he further elaborated his question like why did they choose to express their feelings now when they haven't shown interest before? What about Chizuru being attracted to girls especially Orohime san which she has proclaimed openly many times and Tatsuki has made her hatred for him very clear before, what had changed ?Not that he wasn't happy about them showing affections he explained hurriedly when he saw their forlorn expression it just that it was all of a sudden which just surprised him and he hesitated a bit before asking the final question how come they like him when he was so plain ,cringy and unlikeable what's so good about him in the first place ?.Their reaction to his last question was as if he had physically slapped them, he didn't want to hurt them but it's the truth only chizuru had seen his not so pathetic side .He didn't need his sense to know that they were feeling guilty their body language and the expression on their face was enough. The girls tried to say something simultaneously before they looked at each other and started glaring at each other then started throwing accusations at each other about how they had a deal with each other about not being physical with him before each of them had expressed their respective feeling separately.

He could only stare them for some time, this information about them having a deal or agreement about expressing their feelings for him didn't surprise him much after the events which had happened for past few hours but it was totally unexpected , he looked at his sister to see if she was as confused as he was but the amused look on her face clearly told him that she wasn't and heck she wasn't even surprised by this and the look of resignation on her face only proves that she was already expecting something like this happen. Realization dawned upon him that his sister already knew about this, seems both Tatsuki and Chizuru had talked with his sister without his knowledge. Now that he thinks about it his sister's sudden obsession/interest in his romantic life or lack of thereof and her sudden need to know about his feelings for these two girls, the motive or reason behind it was clear at that moment. He shot an accusing glare at his sister.

His sister on the other hand who had been silent all this time sighed exasperatedly muttering loudly about stupid teenagers being controlled by their stupid hormones not understanding the urgency of the situation and how her kid brother was not some prize and how her kid brother should accept that people like him as who he is and he was being an idiot for questioning their motive for their affection. Before anyone could reply she shooed the girls outside stating that she needed have a private conversation with him and they can resolve their love triangle later when they have cleared their mind. The girls waved him a final good bye and promising that they will explain everything later when he was out of the infirmary probably somewhere outside the school where they can talk freely without any distraction ,he nodded accepting it .Before they left his sister specifically asked them to meet Honsho san who wants to know about what happened so that he can investigate properly and its utmost importance that they tell him everything without fail and that he will help them in understanding what just happened today. Tatsuki and Chizuru could only nod at this hesitantly.

Once they left his sister had shut the infirmary door and turned towards him with blank look on her face and he couldn't even sense anything from her. He had expected her to scream or at him for trying to behave like an idiot and going against the advice given to him when he faced situation like this, he had seen his sister mad but compared to that the calm serene expression on her face, which was so unlike her normal behaviour. This scared the crap out of him, he would rather face the angry screaming version of her than this calm silent version who had done nothing but looking at him intently the moment they were alone in the room. The silent was making him really uncomfortable and finally after few seconds ,his sister started speaking and he was expecting her to scream at him then emotional black mail him into not doing anything like this again but instead she joked about how her kid brother had grown into a big man and had gained two admirers in the process whom she approves and believes that they will keep on line when he tries to do something as reckless as that in the future and just like that her emotions changed from joyful to sadness and fear. The calm act she had been putting for past few hours broke and she pulled him into a tight hug crying on his shoulders letting all the pain she had been hiding out through her mumbling about how she was scared of loosing him too ,that she was helpless like the day when they had lost their parents and was afraid that she would lose him too. His sister the strongest person he had ever seen in his entire life next to his mother, he could feel the vulnerability and fear in her voice. He had never seen her this vulnerable, ok that's a lie he had seen her vulnerable before but that was when he had attempted to off himself by slitting his wrist but after that she had never been this vulnerable and he hated the fact that he was responsible for her fear and vulnerability both times.

Mizuo remained unfazed even when she was facing business men and women in the meetings who were more experienced than her and even when she was the centre of the attention in any private and public gathering or events she was able to maintain a strong and calm personality to the point that even their business rivals and enemies had assumed that she doesn't have any weakness. But she does and it was the main reason why he had wanted to getaway from her ,he even managed to get an admission in one of the private academy at LA for which he took an entrance exam and aced it without any difficulty and a part time job /internship at the cyber security department of LAPD due to his skills in hacking. His sister had somehow got the wind of it when he visited the US embassy for his visa interview. She threw a tantrum and fit worthy of a kid when he returned home after successfully finishing the interview, after he had calmly explained it to her the reason behind his actions her tantrum didn't subside. No matter what she had no intension of leaving him alone in a foreign country. Her arguments were so illogical and childish that he had lost his temper and screamed at his sister to let him be, he doesn't need to be mothered by her each and every second of his life and that he wasn't as incapable as she or everyone thinks. A bad thing to say to an emotionally compromised over protective sister and the small argument turned into a full-blown screaming match. The adults (his grandmother and Honsho san) who were all on the side lines watching the events unfold decided that it was time to intervene before things become even more ugly. They had calmed them down enough to have a quick discussion among themselves, then the adults presented them an idea that if he managed to hit his sister at least once during kendo then he can pursue the path he had decided without consulting anyone. Apparently, his sister wasn't the only one who had been upset by his action but at least the adults were being reasonable or so he thought.

He was so happy about the deal that he didn't see the conspiring looks shared between his grandmother and honsho san or the smirk on his sister's face. He had to get a single hit on his sister, how bad could it be famous last words. He didn't realize how screwed he was until the kendo match had started, even after 13 rounds he couldn't even get a hit on her no matter how much he tried or any strategy he used, his sister had an ace up her sleeve. He realized that it would be inevitable for him to get a hit on his sister at that moment, here he was panting like a dog in exhaustion while Mizuo on other hand looked like she could go on without breaking a sweat.

That was when he noticed the looks on the faces of adults who were watching the spectacle Ishida san included who he assumed that he had join his grandmother and Uncle honsho in the middle of the match. His grandmother looked at both of them with pride but she also had a mischievous expression on her face as if she knew all along that this would be the outcome ,was his grandmother a seer or something akin to it , well there were instances where she had shown signs that she was aware of the outcome of a situation and she had advised his sister on several business deals and meetings on how to proceed with and he faintly remembers how she had pleaded with his parents to postpone the dreaded birthday celebration but to no avail which if they had ,most of his relatives including his parents would have been alive . Uncle Honsho was handing over his money to his uncle Ishida who had a smug look on his face .He found the situation so absurd that he had started laughing like an idiot while conceding his defeat trying retain what left of his already battered dignity intact but alas it was not meant to be because of the huge grin on his sister's face and the way she spoke to him mockingly sweet tone about him trying his best but it wasn't enough to beat her so as a part of deal he was stuck with her for a foreseeable future .But beyond all that mocking he could see that she was relieved and happy that he wouldn't have to stay away from her.

When his sister hugged and sobbed on his shoulder at the infirmary, it was at that moment he had realized that he was both her weakness and strength at the same time. Just like how she had anchored him, the opposite was also true. He understood the depth of her affection and love for him, in spite of the fact that she wouldn't be burdened with someone like him in her life, a life she can enjoy to the fullest without her having to worry about him 24x7, she still demanded him in her life and wouldn't take a no for it. She didn't give up on him when he himself hand given upon himself. The confidence and belief she had in him was astounding, it made him acknowledge the fact that she had basically taken up the role of both his father and mother and was trying her utmost to fill it up, which he had been trying hard to ignore. He didn't want to replace that role with any one not even his sister ,nothing against her he felt that he would be insulting them and their sacrifice .But the truth was he had been too stubborn and narrow minded to understand that she wasn't trying to do that but was trying to be her own version of mother, father ,best friend and sister clumped together in a single role for him ,the point was she wasn't trying to replace them but was trying to become her own version of them.

He realized it when mizuo was crying on his shoulder and he patted her on her back but on his mind, he swore that he wouldn't be a fool anymore. Instead of brooding how his life sucks and that he had to put an act around others ,how people found him annoying and how no one liked him without getting to know him properly ,not that he blamed them , he decided that he would live his life to fullest even if he could only do that in front of certain people so be it, why the fuck should he care about what other thought about him anymore? If ichigo and his friends don't like him so be it, and if other class mates find him annoying, fuck them. He has got people who care about him and willing to be there for him no matter what, But the most important thing was that he would never make his sister cry again and he would be damned if she ever felt vulnerable because of him. From there onwards he swore that he would never think about leaving her or his family again.

It was he who first broke the hug so that he could apologize properly ,Mizuo was initially confused but when he started explaining about how he was sorry for not understanding her love and intention ,how he was wrong about trying to run away from her ,how he behaved like a coward when he tried to off himself , for not caring about her feelings ,for hurting her by his actions , for being a fool in not seeing that he had father/mother/best friend in her and finally for behaving recklessly today and then she started blabbering stuffs left and right .

Mizuo's emotion changed from confusion to pity to joy and finally settled in amusement. She pulled him into a hug to stop his rambling, he had looked at her sheepishly, she laughed at him and replied that she accepts the apology her voice brimming with amusement and relief. Then she finally asked him the dreaded question " what the hell happened that day" even though he can feel that she knows something about it ,he wasn't sure if he should tell her everything or only certain parts .But then ,had he not swore that he would never hurt her and by not telling the truth he would be doing it indirectly and unintentionally provided if she finds out from someone else.

So sighing he had told her everything in a single stretch without omitting anything and when he came to the part of what that creature muttered loudly about that "he" wouldn't be pleased by its action ,his sister looked pissed for some reason but there was an underlying fear beneath that anger ,fear that someone would take him away from her, the emotions lasted for a second before she schooled her features and calmed herself ,he badly wanted to ask if she knew that person or why would he be concerned about him, but he didn't want to worry her so he just placed his hand on hers in a comforting manner that nothing short of death would take him away from her ,he didn't say that though ,injury or not his sister would smack him on his head painfully for even talking about his hypothetical death. Moving on he proceeded to tell her how the creature won't attack him no matter what he did or said to it, this had gained him a glare from her. He probably would have gotten an earful but instead he was asked to proceed with the rest of the events. He then described how Orohime had injured the creature, that the creature crashed into him and after that it vanished into thin leaving no traces behind and him fainting right after that.

He was initially worried that Mizuo wouldn't believe his story but it was for no reason. Either his sister had an encounter like that in the past or she knows more than she is letting him know, but anyways the concerned reaction on her face when he told her about the creature crashing into him worried him a bit. He was about to ask it when his sister pulled him into a tight protective hug muttering that she will protect him no matter what just like she had promised herself and their parents that day.

The tender moment was interrupted by his home room teacher Misato Ochi who looked frantic and worried about him but considering her personality this may not be an issue to a normal person. But he knew better, this kind hearted woman freaked him out but in a good way. The way she treated him was far more different than how she had treated Ichigo, Chad and others, it was so subtle that none of them except him had noticed it thanks to his keen observation and perceptive skills. He couldn't sense any emotions being faked by her when she was around him unlike the way she feels for others which was not so genuine and also he was able to read her body language or a subtle change in her facial expression or the emotions swirling in her eyes every time she looked at him or how they teared up slightly whenever he got insulted by his classmates for being a sore loser or whenever he was in his edge lord /sad emo moods the way she looked like she really wanted to hug him in order to comfort him but couldn't for some reasons . Each one of those pointed out one thing Ochi sensei cared about him more than as a teacher ,it felt as if like a family, as if like a mother would feel for her son ,the way she looked at him also painfully reminded him like how his own mom would look at him, he knew it was wrong comparing it with his late mother but it just happened subconsciously , not to mention the nagging/nostalgic feeling he felt around her as if he had known her for a long time or at least met her in the past. So, he had checked all his family photos but couldn't find her in any so he asked his grandmother about since he knew that asking his sister was not an option because for some reason, she didn't like Ochi sensei. His grandmother just smiled at him and gave him a cryptic answer which he had interpreted as he may have met her but the person he met and the person he is meeting in the school were not the same, to be frank it confused the hell out of him and no matter he pleaded or pestered ,his grandmother would not tell him anything other than that he will know everything on time . Knowing his grandmother, he understood that's the best he could get out of her so he nodded and accepted it. But meeting her at the infirmary that day brought back the familiar feeling which he had been ignoring tenfold, the way she looked at him with clear worry and concern was infuriating him for some reason , he was frustrated and confused at the same time ,confused why he wasn't feeling anything odd about her behaviour ,frustrated that he subconsciously knew something but couldn't remember it, the feeling of not knowing something he could live with ,the feeling of knowing something but couldn't remember it was the worst. He didn't mean to show his frustration on his face but unfortunately due to him feeling tired both physically and emotionally, he ended up showing his frustration on his face, which was mistaken as sign of pain by his sister and Ochi sensei and they immediately started fussing over him like mother hen examining him and checking him for some unseen injury together ,his sister forgetting the fact that she hated the woman with passion for some reason. Only after his repeated assurance that they stopped their fuzzing. After a second or two everyone present there realized what had just happened, his sister started glaring at his home room teacher and his home teacher looked slightly embarrassed but that embarrassment lasted only for a second before she looked at him with a determined expression on her face, she pulled him into a tight mother bear hug.

Instead of getting confused and pulling away when she hugged him, the hug felt so familiar and nostalgic subconsciously that he hugged her back without a second thought. The hug was so similar to that of the hugs he got from his mother and sister, it calmed and comforted him at the same time making him forget all the worries and frustrations he had at that moment. When the hug ended, he felt slightly lonely but other than that everything was fine, it had the same impact a mother's hug would have on her child. But the same could not be said for his sister, she was fuming and he could even see imaginary smoke coming out of her ear ,the look or the glare if he can call that a glare she was throwing in her direction was so intense that he was surprised that Oshi sensei didn't even notice it ,instead she had sheepish but a satisfied smile on her face and the emotions he could feel from her was satisfaction and pure happiness. She just gave his sister an apologetic smile with a look which was a silent plead to let her have this moment ,his sister lost all the anger she was feeling and it was replaced with pity ,she sighed audibly while giving her a look which asked her to continue whatever she had in her mind and that she would overlook this only that time. Having gotten the permission, Ochi placed a gentle kiss on his forehead then ruffled his hair affectionately, this kiss was so different from the kisses he had gotten from Tatsuki and Chizuru while all the three were filled with love and affection but this was of a motherly love while theirs was of romantic love .Those kisses had an underlying desire and need for his love and affection which was missing in the kiss on the forehead. Those kisses from Tatsuki and Chizuru missed the affection, concern, longing and worry of a mother who was holding back her affections for a long time.

He was so distracted that he almost didn't see his sister standing in front of him in a possessive manner and he almost missed the annoyed look on Ochi sensei's face. His sister told her in a serious tone that it would not be advisable for her to draw unnecessary attention stressing the words unnecessary attention which confused him about the randomness of it but for some reason it had caught her off guard but it seemed like she didn't exactly understand it .So to clarify whatever doubt she had and to make things clear , his sister had asked him to retell everything which had happened before he was brought to the infirmary and after getting a confirmation from his sister regarding the everything part ,he told his home room teacher about the encounter with the tentacled creature .She was listening calmly and he could feel that she believed him which for some reason made him slightly happy. Once he had finished telling her everything, she was silent for sometime as if she was thinking about something deeply even when he was retelling the events, she wasn't worried about that creature hurting him or any creature he felt that she was so sure about it. When he had mentioned about that creature getting worried about that someone wouldn't be pleased if it had attacked him, for a second, he could see a smirk on her face and the emotions he felt were of pride, satisfaction and joy, for whom he couldn't decipher it. But she was also concerned about the creature's body disappearing after crashing into him.

What surprised him was that she was worried about him being injured by the students and not the creature. Then he was lectured for being reckless and putting himself in the harm's way and half way through the lecture his sister had joined in as well. By the time it ended he had assured them multiple times that he would runaway from that if something like that ever happened again and that he would come to either one of them immediately irrespective of which class they were in, they made it clear that his safety and wellbeing comes first.

After that he could sense that the relationship between his sister and her had become slightly amicable, he can still feel that Mizuho doesn't like his home room teacher but the level of dislike had been reduced compared to what she had previously. His best guess was their mutual concern and care for him. He could also sense that his sister had started respecting the woman for the lecture she gave him for being reckless, he thought that if him being reckless would bring these two closers then he ought to be more reckless in the future, for some unknown reason he wanted these two to be friendly with each other. Then after getting the confirmation from the school nurse that he was free to leave, they left the infirmary together. Before they could go on their separate way, Ochi had a parting word for them, she was happy that he had some like Mizuho as a maternal figure and that their parents would have been really happy and proud about them and that she would be there for them from there on irrespective of any circumstances, she also had apologized to them .He didn't understand why she was apologizing or why she was feeling guilty since she had not done anything wrong to them .He had wanted to run after her to inquire about that apology but was held back by his sister who just shook her head as if saying that that wasn't the right moment. He had gone to sleep hoping and praying that nothing weird should happen in his sleep.

But here he is , talking to a mario look alike who has an ego as high as Mount Fuji, narcissistic as fuck and he hopes that he isn't a psychopath but knowing his luck he never knows. Well atleast this smug asshole is willing to inform or explain him about the supernatural world even though his senses are warning him not to have any more conversation with him, unfortunately he has to ignore the warning because this is his only chance to understand it ,since he knew asking his sister and others around him would be futile ,his sister had refused to talk about that monster incident after reaching home no matter how persistent he was and he dint want to cause her any grief since he could sense her pain and guilt when she had refused it.

Ichigo ,orohime ,Chad and Rukia are out of the question too ,well because Ichigo is always annoyed by him and would either punch him hard on his face or will completely ignore him, Chad is kind and helpful to him not even once he had insulted or harmed him but he is at the same time loyal to Ichigo at the same time so he would be in a dilemma torn between helping him and remaining loyal to Ichigo so he didn't want to cause trouble to one of the few people who had been nice to him in the school, Orohime chan was the best option like Chad she too was really kind and helpful , unlike him she is bit naïve and gullible but then the tentacle monster incident happened ,the complete change in his behaviour and the monster's word didn't help him either since she started getting suspicious of him eventhough he has got nothing to hide ,the situation with her is still salvageable but he would keep her as a last option, its not like he can't manipulate people it's just he didn't like doing it unless the situation was dire. Rukia was no go since he believes that she is responsible for all of this in one way or another so asking her isn't going to help him in any way and besides he wasn't that close to her. So the only available option at the moment was this god complex guy in front of him and he even promised to tell him anything, he could sense that his offer was genuine too.

So finally making up his mind he looked at Mario or Yhwach as he had introduced himself like that against his better judgment, who was waiting patiently for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: The reason for the abrupt behavior of certain characters will be explained in the upcoming chapters. I am sorry if this chapter is confusing. And as of now, I'm in a dilemma if I should make this an AU or should I follow the canon events. If you guys have any preference ill try to move the story in that direction.


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